Welsh singer Duffy, known for her 2008 debut album Rockferry, will share the full story of her kidnapping and rape in a new documentary produced by Disney+ and Hulu Original. The programme promises 'unprecedented access' to the 41-year-old, who vanished from the public eye for a decade before revealing in 2020 that she had been drugged, kidnapped and raped in 2010.
The documentary, directed by Gill Callan, will include interviews with friends, family and music industry associates. 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.'
In a 2020 Instagram post, Duffy said she was 'raped and drugged and held captive over some days'. She later detailed the ordeal in an essay on her website, writing that she was drugged at a restaurant on her birthday, held captive in her own home and 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,' she wrote.
Duffy said the perpetrator made 'veiled confessions of wanting to kill me' and that she escaped by 'fleeing'. She indicated the perpetrator remains at large. After initially fearing contacting the police, she reported the crime following a threat to 'out her'. She said she was at 'high risk of suicide' and spent 'almost 10 years completely alone'.
Rape Crisis praised Duffy for speaking out, with Katie Russell stating: 'When someone like Duffy speaks out in such a powerful way it can make other survivors feel a little bit less alone and less ashamed.' Disney+ head of content for Europe Angela Jain added: 'She has entrusted us with her story, so we really have a huge responsibility to handle this with care and sensitivity.'
