What happened to Duffy, as she opens up about her horrifying kidnapping in new documentary

Duffy is set to reveal what happened behind her disappearance from the spotlight, in a new documentary about her kidnapping. It will be released by Disney+.

The Welsh singer, who rose to fame with her 2008 debut album Rockferry, largely stepped away from public life at the height of her success. It wasn’t until 2020 that she revealed the reason why: She had been drugged, kidnapped and taken overseas, where she was subjected to abuse and raped.

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Now 41, Duffy, whose real name is Aimée Anne Duffy, will speak in depth about the experience for the first time in an upcoming Disney+ and Hulu Original production. Filming is expected to begin soon, and the project promises “new, unprecedented access” to the singer. Alongside her account, the documentary will feature interviews with people close to her, including friends, family and figures from the music industry.

Duffy first spoke publicly about the ordeal in February 2020, writing on Instagram that she had been “raped and drugged and held captive over some days”. While she did not initially specify when the incident occurred, she explained that being contacted by a journalist prompted her to finally share what had happened. She also invited fans to submit questions for a follow-up interview, though this never came to fruition.

A month later, she released new music for the first time in years. Introducing her track Something Beautiful on BBC Radio 2, she admitted: “It’s harder than I thought.” A second song, River in the Sky, followed later that year.

Stan Godlewski/ZUMA Wire/Shutterstock

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After removing her original Instagram post, Duffy went on to describe the experience in more detail in an essay published on her website. She explained that she had been drugged while out for her birthday, before being held captive at her home and later taken abroad.

“I can’t remember getting on the plane and came round in the back of a travelling vehicle. I was put into a hotel room and the perpetrator returned and raped me. I remember the pain and trying to stay conscious in the room after it happened.”

She also said the attacker made “veiled confessions of wanting to kill me”. Eventually, she managed to escape by “fleeing”, though she added that she “cannot remember getting home”, and suggested the perpetrator remains “still at large”.

Duffy later reported the incident to police after someone threatened to expose her experience publicly. Reflecting on the aftermath, she said she had been at “high risk of suicide” and spent close to a decade isolated, cut off from her family.

What happened, she wrote, “stole a lot from other people too. I was just not the same person for so long. Rape is like living murder, you are alive, but dead.” With support from a psychologist, she said she has since reached a place where she can begin to move forward and “leave this decade behind”.

Director Gill Callan said: “Duffy’s life has been shaped by success and fame, but equally by pain, defiance and an irrepressible sense of self. I’m drawn to the tension between vulnerability and confidence in her story and how a person can be deeply affected by their experiences, yet still find a powerful, expressive voice that is unmistakably hers.”

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Featured image credit: Stan Godlewski/ZUMA Wire/Shutterstock