Singer Duffy to open up about alleged kidnapping, sexual abuse in new Disney+ documentary
Duffy is opening up about her alleged kidnapping and sexual abuse in a new documentary.
The Welsh singer, whose real name is Aimée Anne Duffy and who is known for her 2008 Grammy-nominated song "Mercy," will open up for the first time in a feature-length documentary film for Disney+ about allegedly being kidnapped, trafficked and sexually abused.
In 2020, after disappearing from the spotlight for 10 years, Duffy reemerged and shared in an Instagram post that she had allegedly been kidnapped, trafficked, "raped and drugged and held captive over some days."
She also wrote about the alleged kidnapping and abuse in an essay online, saying it happened on her birthday and that she was initially "drugged at a restaurant."
She alleged that she was taken to a foreign country at one point, but "can't remember getting on the plane," only waking "in the back of a travelling vehicle."
She said she did not remember how she got home.
The singer did not share details of where or when the alleged incidents took place, but said in her 2020 Instagram post that she was "ok and safe now."
In her essay, she said that the experience took a toll on her in the years that followed.
She added, "I am sharing this because we are living in a hurting world and I am no longer ashamed that something deeply hurt me, anymore. I believe that if you speak from the heart within you, the heart within others will answer. As dark as my story is, I do speak from my heart, for my life, and for the life of others, whom have suffered the same."
A press release about the new documentary from Disney+ and Hulu states that it will be a "retrospective film traversing Duffy's life, from her upbringing in Wales, through to her meteoric rise to fame and her withdrawal from public life following her unfathomable experience."
The documentary will also include archival footage and interviews with Duffy's family, friends and industry peers.
Disney+ executive Sean Doyle said in a statement, "This film will give Duffy the chance to tell her story in her own words," adding that the project was handled "with sensitivity and care."
"I'm especially in awe of Duffy -- for her honesty and courage to share her story," he said.
Documentary director Gill Callan added in a statement, "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."
Disney is the parent company of ABC News and Hulu.
