CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses sexual assault.
After four years, Welsh singer and pop music icon Aimée Anne Duffy — famously known as Duffy — has returned to social media. Her long-awaited return to the public has been met with lots of love and support.
For the Gen Zers (or millennials/zillennials who cannot remember) Duffy was a UK-based singer who was responsible for a number of bangers such as “Mercy” and “Warwick Avenue”.
I vividly remember the first time I ever heard “Mercy”, during a 2008 performance of So You Think You Can Dance that featured a fake kiss I thought was so scandalous at the time.
But after four years, Duffy returned to social media with a message of hope to her beloved followers who may have missed her presence — as well as her sultry voice.
“A little something to motivate the heart. Hope you are all doing well. Lots of love, Duffy,” she wrote on Instagram alongside an emotional video that explored the meaning the happiness and self-acceptance.
However, a lot of folks may not know why the star left social media for such a long time and why this video is truly impactful coming from the singer.
So, here’s a look into why Duffy took four years to return to social media.
What happened to Duffy?
Back in March 2020, the “Mercy” singer shared an extremely traumatic experience, where she claimed she was held captive and raped by an unidentified person.
In the same post, Duffy also praised the “heroines” who spoke up against disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
“Well, not entirely sure why now is the right time, and what it is that feels exciting and liberating for me to talk,” she wrote in the now-deleted Instagram post.
“Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why.
“The truth is, and please trust me I am OK and safe now, I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days. Of course, I survived.”
She also explained that this was the reason for her absence from music, with her last album Endlessly being released in 2010. She briefly returned to music in 2015 for the movie Legend.
In the following month, Duffy shared a 3,600-word blog post that detailed the alleged kidnapping and rape.
“I can now leave this decade behind. Where the past belongs. Hopefully no more ‘what happened to Duffy’ questions, now you know… and I am free,” she wrote at the end heavily-candid of her post.
Although the blog post is still accessible, her original IG statement is no longer available on her account. Before her recent post, the only publicly visible post on her account was a black and white portrait set to her own music.
Was the alleged perpetrator ever charged?
In her blog posts, Duffy never shared if the accused was ever held accountable for their alleged action. However, she did share that she told two female police officers about the rape on two separate occasions.
“I have told two female police officers, during different threatening incidents in the past decade, it is on record,” the singer wrote.
“Once someone threatened to ‘out’ my story and I had to tell a female police officer what information the person held about me, and why the blackmail was so frightening.
“The second incident was when three men tried to enter my house as intruders, I told the second female officer about the rape then also.
“The identity of the rapist should be only handled by the police, and that is between me and them.”
What was Duffy’s new Instagram post about?
As mentioned previously, Duffy shared a video that explored the meaning of happiness and self-acceptance.
Many of her fans expressed how much they missed the singer and showed support for her return.
“Thank you, this made me cry. It’s difficult to learn to love & be kind to yourself. I’m still working on it. Lots of love,” one fan wrote.
“We miss you Duffy. We love you and hope and wish you are happy, fulfilled and where your heart wants you to be,” a second fan commented.
“We miss you Duffy and your beautiful voice,” wrote a third.
Although many fans expressed their love for her voice, I think it will be a long, long time before we hear any new tunes from her.
In 2011, a close friend of the singer claimed that the pressures of fame and fortune were too much for the singer and that she craved a life in the country.
At the end of the day, I’m just glad she came back and shared the message we all needed to hear. It’s kind of emotional if you catch her post during the trek home.
Hopefully, the singer is in a much better place now and we’ll always be thankful for her being so brave for sharing her story.
Image source: Getty Images / Dave M. Benett and Chiaki Nozu/FilmMagic
Help is available.
- If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
- If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
- Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
