Rotten shows Duffy no mercy

A case of mistaken identity reportedly left Duffy in tears on Monday night - after punk rocker Johnny Rotten barked at the star for embracing him.

Rotten - real name John Lydon - was speaking to reporters backstage at London's Mojo Awards when the Welsh singer approached him from behind to give him a hug.

The Sex Pistols frontman was said to have then flown into a rage, whipping round to face the 23-year-old and snarling, "You never, ever do that to me."

Holding back tears, the singer fled from the scene, while Lydon, 52, declared to journalists the scene was like a "bad advert for binge drinking".

But a spokesperson for the Mercy hitmaker has denied she was devastated by the incident, adding, "She went up to John to say hello and he seemed to push her out of the way.

"She was naturally upset but she didn't let it spoil her night and left on a plane yesterday morning to go to the States to do (U.S. talk show) the Jay Leno show. She's over it."

Meanwhile, Lydon has since admitted he is a fan of the star. He said: "Oh, she won an award? I quite like her."