Welsh singer Duffy will tell the harrowing tale of her kidnapping in an upcoming Disney+ documentary after years of hiding away. Not long after releasing her breakout hit "Mercy" in 2008, an unnamed man abducted and raped her, leading her to shun the spotlight after 2011.
Fifteen years later, she's ready to share her story in the hopes of further recovering from the ordeal.
Duffy partners with Disney for dark documentary
Aimée Anne Duffy, better known simply as Duffy, first revealed her trauma in a 3,000 word story she published on a personal website. The 2020 post outlines how a man drugged her in a restaurant, raped her in a hotel room, and flew her to a foreign country before she escaped after four weeks of horror.
Due to the drugging, she doesn't remember much of what happened during that time. What she does remember is the years that followed as colleges advised her to keep quiet while the trauma consumed her.
"What is also hard to explain is that, in hiding, in not talking, I was allowing the rape to become a companion," she wrote. "Me and it living in my being, I no longer wanted to feel that intimacy with it, a decade of that intimacy has been destructive. I had to set myself free."
Fear of her attacker further worked to keep her from coming forward or escaping from him sooner. She says the man threatened to kill her, and her survival is an incredible feat in and of itself. As much as it may feel like a necessity for her mental health, speaking out like this still takes an untold level of bravery.
On Wednesday, the Disney+ head of content for EMEA Angela Jain announced the documentary at international TV festival Series Mania.
"She has entrusted us with her story, so we really have a huge responsibility to handle this with care and sensitivity," said Jain.
"The original documentary film will be driven by new, unprecedented access to Duffy, along with a rich and nostalgic archive, and interviews with family, friends, and close peers in the music industry."
"Wishing her healing and peace"
Anything that happened in the year 2020 risked being overshadowed by the COVID pandemic, so many who remember Duffy from 2008 are hearing about what happened to her for the first time.
"I was recently thinking about her, and why she never released another album after her sophomore effort in 2010… I did not expect this," wrote @ikisnick. "Jesus, how harrowing."
"Loved her so and wondered where she went after that terrific album. I had no idea JFC how awful," said @SantaMagdalene.
Those who already knew are understandably angry that it didn't get more attention six years ago.
"The way almost nobody gave a f*** when this happened with her is absolutely INSANE to me like…… she was kidnapped, raped and silenced for years !!!! thank God now we got to see it on a bigger platform," wrote @y2kpopart. "Sending all my love to DUFFY."
Either way, most are hoping Duffy will continue to recover and find her way in a world that hosts such terrible violence.
"Wishing her healing and peace as she opens up about such a difficult chapter," said @Carey3060831622.
"Beyond disturbing and cruel," wrote @MuckerWes. "This trauma changes someone's life forever, I hope she can find healing and peace."
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