Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley with his memoir, 'Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven And Hell'. Photo: Deryck Whibley/Instagram
Canadian singer Deryck Whibley, the frontman of rock band Sum 41, has accused their former manager Greig Nori of grooming and sexual abuse when he was a teenager.
The claims were made in Whibley’s new memoir, Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven And Hell, which was released on Oct 8.
“As excited as I am to share this open and honest memoir of my life story tomorrow, I’m equally just as terrified,” the 44-year-old wrote on social media on Oct 7.
According to snippets shared with The Los Angeles Times, Whibley said he first met Nori, the frontman of Canadian band Treble Charger, backstage at a Treble Charger concert.
At that time, Whibley was 16 and Nori was 34.
Nori became Whibley’s songwriting mentor and eventually became Sum 41’s manager, producing their music, helping them form industry connections, and inviting them to parties and raves.
“Greig had one requirement to be our manager – he wanted total control,” Whibley wrote in his book. “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 recounted an incident in which Nori allegedly kissed him “passionately” in a bathroom during a night of partying when he was 18.
Whibley was shocked and confused as Nori tried to convince him to pursue their relationship, claiming to Whibley that “many of my rock star idols were queer”.
Whibley wanted to end their physical relationship after exploring his sexuality for a few months, but Nori was furious and called him “homophobic”.
“He told me this was all my fault to begin with because I should never have said yes to it in the first place. I started this and now he was in it with me so I couldn’t just stop,” Whibley wrote in his book.
Whibley claimed the sexual pressure ended after it was discovered by a mutual friend of his and Nori’s. However, the verbal and psychological abuse continued, with Nori attempting to keep him and his bandmates away from their parents. Sum 41 parted ways with Nori in 2005.
Whibley said he did not tell his bandmates about the alleged sexual behaviour. He did divulge it to Canadian singer Avril Lavigne, his then girlfriend and later his wife from 2006 to 2010, who told him: “That’s abuse. He sexually abused you.”
He also shared his secret with model Ariana Cooper, whom he married in 2015, who said: “He groomed you from a young teen and mentally forced you. You said no, you didn’t want to do this anymore, and he told you it had to continue or you would lose everything. That’s psychological, mental and physical abuse.”
The couple share two children aged four and one.
Reacting to the claims, Nori, now 62, told Canadian newspaper The Globe And Mail that he has not read the book and said they were false allegations. He added that he has retained a defamation lawyer.
Formed in 1996, Sum 41 – which also consist of Dave Baksh, Jason McCaslin, Tom Thacker and Frank Zummo – are known for their invigorating pop punk, energetic antics and relatable lyrics. Their most successful single, Fat Lip (2001), topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart that year.
They announced in May 2023 that they were disbanding. They are on an ongoing farewell concert tour, which included a stop in Singapore at The Star Theatre in March 2024. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
