Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley accuses former manager of sexual abuse
Deryck Whibley, the frontman of Sum 41, has alleged that the band’s former manager and Treble Charger frontman, Greig Nori, sexually and verbally abused him.
Whibley made the allegation in his new memoir, Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell, which was released on October 8th. The Canadian pop-punk figure, best known for creating the band’s hit songs such as ‘Fat Lip’ and ‘In Too Deep’, claims that he met Nori when he was 16 and Nori was 33 or 34. He then became Sum 41’s manager due to them being big fans of Nori’s band, Treble Charger.
“Greig had one requirement to be our manager — he wanted total control,” Whibley writes in the book (via Los Angeles Times). “We couldn’t talk to anyone but him, because the music business is ‘full of snakes and liars’ and he was the only person we could trust.”
Whibley – who recently dispelled rumours about joining Linkin Park – writes that when he was 18 and already intoxicated at a rave, Nori asked him to come to the bathroom and take another bit of ecstasy. Crammed together, the Sum 41 frontman alleges that Nori grabbed his face and “passionately” kissed him. Whibley writes that he was shocked, as he’d never seen the older musician and manager romantically, with Nori reasoning that although he’d never felt same-sex attraction before, “[Whibley] brought it out in him because what [they] had was so special,” per the book.
As time wore on, the memoir maintains that Nori suggested to Whibley that what they were doing was worth pursuing because “so many of my rock star idols were queer. … Most people are bisexual; they’re just too afraid to admit it.”
Yet, Sum 41 were increasing in prominence and spending more time on the road than at home in Ajax, Ontario. Whibley says he felt relief at being away and then, when home, attempted to end the physical encounters, as he isn’t bisexual or gay. Whibley maintains that Nori became angry as a response to this and labelled him homophobic while also reeling a series of reasons why Whibley “owed” him for helping his music career and even accused him of starting the relationship.
In his interview with the Los Angeles Times, Whibley says he never told anyone about what happened with Nori, who continued pressing that they had a “special connection” while pressuring him into sexual relations. However, when Whibley started dating Avril Lavigne in 2004, whom he eventually married in 2006, he eventually told her. As recorded in the book, she told him: “That’s abuse! He sexually abused you.” After he told his current wife, Ariana Cooper, she said the same thing.
In Walking Disaster, the Sum 41 vocalist writes that Nori ceased initiating sexual encounters after a mutual friend discovered what had happened. The friend also told the pair that the relationship was abuse. However, the verbal abuse continued until the band eventually fired Nori in 2005 due to other claims of mismanagement, with Whibley not telling them about the abuse, which he says he still hasn’t done.
In an interview with the Toronto Star, Whibley said Nori hadn’t read the book yet. “You can’t sue [someone] for telling the truth,” he said. “If he wants to challenge it, I welcome that. Let’s go to court. Let’s go under oath. That would be fucking great! I welcome that part. Let’s get into discovery. I’ll have my lawyers grill you. They can grill me all they want. I mean, that would be fucking perfect! Finally, let’s get it on record!”
Nori is yet to respond to Whibley’s allegations.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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