Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

Duffy to Recall Horrifying Abduction and Retreat From Spotlight in New Documentary

New project will arrive on Disney+

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

Welsh singer Duffy is preparing to share the story of her harrowing abduction, after retreating almost completely from the public eye. In an upcoming, currently untitled Disney+ Documentary, she will share the story of her survival, disappearance from fame, and journey through recovery.

“Duffy’s life has been shaped by success and fame, but equally by pain, defiance, and an irrepressible sense of self,” director Gill Callan said in a statement. “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.”

Duffy quickly rose to popularity with her 2008 debut album Rockferry. The fast-selling single “Mercy” and her unique, soulful vocals were radio staples into the 2010s. But just as quickly as she emerged, she disappeared from the spotlight just as fast.

In 2020, she published two notes addressing her disappearance from music. She revealed publicly for the first time that an unknown perpetrator had drugged, abducted, raped, and held her captive.

Duffy Documentary To Share Retrospective On Singer’s Life, Career, and Survival

In February 2020, Duffy shared the first account of her story on Instagram. She said she was “OK and safe now,” but revealed the truth about why she disappeared from public life.

“I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days,” she wrote. “Of course I survived. The recovery took time. There’s no light way to say it. But I can tell you in the last decade, the thousands and thousands of days I committed to wanting to feel the sunshine in my heart again, the sun does now shine.”

She didn’t explicitly state when the ordeal took place. Unofficially, there’s a possibility it happened shortly after her second album in 2010. In a second post in April 2020, Duffy noted she spent “almost 10 years completely alone” after the assault. She also said she was sharing the story at the time to help “others who have suffered the same.” She hoped “it comforts you to feel less ashamed if you feel alone.”

According to the post, a man drugged and abducted her on her birthday. He held her captive in her home for days. She couldn’t identify her attacker, who took her to a foreign country.

“I was put into a hotel room and the perpetrator returned and raped me,” she wrote, per a report from The Guardian. She added that the perpetrator made “veiled confessions of wanting to kill me” and admitted that she “could have been disposed of by him.”

At the time, Duffy added that she hoped to release “a body of work one day.” In December 2019, she dropped the single “2020,” and in March 2020, released “Something Beautiful.” But she concluded that, despite her long recovery, “I very much doubt I will ever be the person people once knew.”

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

(Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage) The Reason LeBron James Carried J. Cole’s ‘The Fall-Off’ Vinyl to a Lakers Game 12 minutes ago By Caleb Catlin

The Reason LeBron James Carried J. Cole’s ‘The Fall-Off’ Vinyl to a Lakers Game

Dragon Dildos, Clit Suckers, and Sex Tech Top Lovehoney Pleasure Awards 13 minutes ago By Gigi Fong | Reviewed by Ysolt Usigan

Dragon Dildos, Clit Suckers, and Sex Tech Top Lovehoney Pleasure Awards

By Gigi Fong | Reviewed by Ysolt Usigan

(Photo: David Corio/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images) Duffy to Recall Horrifying Abduction and Retreat From Spotlight in New Documentary 19 minutes ago By Lauren Boisvert

Duffy to Recall Horrifying Abduction and Retreat From Spotlight in New Documentary

Svetlana Repnitskaya/Getty Images Doomsday Prepper Reveals 5 Ways He’s Updated Off-Grid Living for Modern America 1 hour ago By Evan Roberson

Doomsday Prepper Reveals 5 Ways He’s Updated Off-Grid Living for Modern America

(Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images) Usher Says We Should Still Recognize Diddy’s Legacy Despite His Abuse Allegations 1 hour ago By Caleb Catlin

Usher Says We Should Still Recognize Diddy’s Legacy Despite His Abuse Allegations

Photo: Elsie Roymans/Getty Images There Exists An Alternate Timeline Where Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Stole ‘Dimebag’ Darrell and Vinnie Paul from Pantera 2 hours ago By Stephen Andrew Galiher

There Exists An Alternate Timeline Where Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Stole ‘Dimebag’ Darrell and Vinnie Paul from Pantera

By Stephen Andrew Galiher

Screenshot: PlayStation All The Best Deals In The PlayStation Store Spring Sale 2 hours ago By Denny Connolly

All The Best Deals In The PlayStation Store Spring Sale

Screenshot: NetEase Games Marvel Rivals Is Coming to Nintendo Switch 2 3 hours ago By Denny Connolly

Marvel Rivals Is Coming to Nintendo Switch 2

(Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images) Usher Says There’s No Beef With Justin Bieber After Their Tense Argument at an Oscars Afterparty 3 hours ago By Caleb Catlin

Usher Says There’s No Beef With Justin Bieber After Their Tense Argument at an Oscars Afterparty

Photography By Escobar Studios/Getty Images This Engineer Wants to Rebuild the Twin Towers, But With Lasers This Time 3 hours ago By Luis Prada

This Engineer Wants to Rebuild the Twin Towers, But With Lasers This Time

Kill the ads for just $2 a month

VICE membership also gives you access to our very best writing and exclusive new documentaries.

Add your account details

© Vice