In Deryck Whibley’s new memoir, the Sum 41 singer claims the band’s former manager sexually abused him. Whibley said Greig Nori, singer of the Canadian band Treble Charger, had forcefully kissed him and pressured him into a relationship. Nori since denied the allegations, and now Whibley is threatening legal action.
‘Such a controlling person’
October 8: Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley is opening up about his early days in the band — and claiming the band’s former manager sexually abused him. In Whibley’s memoir Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell, he writes that Greig Nori, Sum 41’s first manager, groomed him and abused him verbally and sexually, per the Los Angeles Times. Nori, singer of the band Treble Charger, was an early champion of Sum 41 in the Canadian punk scene after Whibley met him backstage at a Treble Charger show. Whibley said he was 16 when they met, and Nori was 34. He wrote that Nori offered mentorship and soon took over managing duties, but wanted “total control†of the band. When Whibley was 18, he wrote, Nori took him to the bathroom at a rave to drop ecstasy, where Nori grabbed him and kissed him. Whibley wrote that Nori tried to pressure him to have a relationship, saying Whibley “owed†him for helping his career, even as Whibley tried to stop because he wasn’t attracted to men.
Whibley said Nori ended the physical abuse after a friend found out, but became more verbally abusive afterward. He wrote that Nori would try to instigate fights between Whibley and the band, saying Whibley had “gone Hollywood†for dating Avril Lavigne. Whibley tried multiple times to convince Sum 41 to fire Nori before they finally did in 2005, but still never told the band about the alleged abuse. He writes that Lavigne, his wife from 2006–09, helped him realize that Nori was abusive, as did his current wife, Ariana Cooper. Whibley later sued Nori in 2018 for his publishing on Sum 41’s early work and claims in the memoir that Nori pushed to be credited as a songwriter on the albums he produced, 2002’s Does This Look Infected? and 2004’s Chuck.
Whibley told the Times he hasn’t warned Nori about his memoir. “You know, I don’t owe him anything,†he said. “I’ve had an inner battle, like, ‘Why do I want to tell him? Because I feel like I’m supposed to? Because he still has this thing over me?’ He controlled everything in my life, but even the rest of the guys through the band. We were all under his wing. Me more, obviously. But he was such a controlling person.â€
Whibley: See you in court
October 15: After Greig Nori denied Deryck Whibley’s abuse allegations, Whibley threatened legal action. Nori first told the Globe and Mail Whibley’s claims were “false,†before expanding on his denial in a statement to the Toronto Star. “The accusation that I initiated the relationship is false,†Nori said October 10, claiming “Whibley initiated it, aggressively.†Nori also denied grooming Whibley or forcing him to stay in the relationship. “Ultimately the relationship simply faded out. Consensually,†he said.
Whibley then responded to Nori in a video message. “It’s come to my attention that Greig Nori has now called me a liar,†Whibley said. “I’ll tell you right now: I stand by every word that’s in my book, 100 percent.†Whibley they directly addressed Nori. “If you think I’m a liar, there’s only one way to settle this: under oath,†he said. “In front of a judge, in front of a jury, any time you want, I’m ready. Whenever you are.â€
Whibley also thanked his fans, band, and family “for all the love and support.†“We’ll get through this, like we get through everything else,†he said.