Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 provides details of alleged sexual and verbal abuse by former manager

A thorough analysis of the alleged verbal and sexual abuse that Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley claims to have experienced while the band was managed by Greig Nori of Treble Charger is one of the major revelations to come out of his memoir “Walking Disaster”. The musician told the Los Angeles Times that he was thinking back on his life and that he felt it was time to be clear about this part of it since the book would allow him to close a chapter on his past. In the book, the singer claims that for years, Nori, Sum 41‘s first manager, had groomed him by verbally and sexually assaulting him. He was 16 and Nori was 34 when the two musicians first crossed paths.

Whibley invited Nori to watch his band while sneaking backstage at a Treble Charger gig, which is how they first met. According to the Sum 41 singer, a connection developed when he started asking Nori questions about the band and music. Before joining the band as their first manager, Nori served as a mentor for songwriting. The musician claims that when he was eighteen and got wasted at a rave, the relationship took a turn for the worst. According to Whibley’s account in the book, Nori allegedly asked him to come to a bathroom stall so he could get a hit of ecstasy before seizing his face and giving him a passionate kiss.

Greig had one requirement to be our manager — he wanted total control. 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.

Deryck Whibley

The singer claims that although the approach shocked him, Nori reasoned that even though he had never been attracted to someone of the same sex before, [Whibley] “brought it out in him because what [they] had was so special.” In the book, Whibley also claims that Nori told him that their work was worthwhile because “so many of my rock star idols were queer.” Whibley claims that when he tried to stop their physical interactions, the manager would accuse him of being homophobic, explain why Whibley “owed” him, and blame the musician for letting the relationship begin.

Whibley claims in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that he kept Nori’s connection a secret. He clarified that he eventually revealed the secret to Avril Lavigne, his future wife, while they were dating in 2004. The pop-rock artist informed Whibley that there had been sexual assault in their relationship. Ariana Cooper, Whibley’s current wife, reacted to the singer’s relationship with Nori in the same way as Lavigne did. According to Whibley’s book, the sexual aspect of the connection with Nori ended when a mutual acquaintance found out and challenged them both about the relationship’s potential for abuse. The singer also told the L.A. Times that, despite feeling torn about warning him, he had not disclosed the relationship with Nori to his bandmates, both past and present, nor had he informed Nori about the accusations in the book.

I don’t owe him anything. 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. Derych Whibley

Even after their sexual relationship ended, Nori continued to manage the band, and Whibley claims that he began to try to set the band against him occasionally and that his verbal abuse became more severe. According to Whibley, Nori had urged the group to include him as a co-writer on a number of their songs in order to boost their credibility in the industry because of his experience. Whibley sued Nori to regain his songwriting portion of the band’s publishing credits after being kicked out of the group. Whibley lobbied for their manager, Nori, to be fired. He argued with his bandmates about Nori’s poor management, but he chose not to mention the intimate nature of their connection. After the album “Chuck” in 2005, the group did finally break up with Nori. Additionally, he claims that Nori’s influence extended to the parents of that band member, claiming that he made every effort to keep the relatives away. According to the Los Angeles Times, Nori was contacted regarding the article but chose not to comment.

Now it makes more sense. Because he was the same age as our parents, and we didn’t know that at the time. He knew they would get suspicious of the way things were running. … He would always be like, ‘You can’t have a relationship with your parents and be in a rock band. It’s not cool. It’s going to hurt your career.’ Deryck Whibley

“Why now?” is a query that frequently follows a significant disclosure like this one. The reason might be the singer’s comfort level with being able to talk about it in public after processing it for years while writing the book. It’s allowed him to reflect and share both the positive and negative aspects of life from the perspective of wanting to be truthful. Whibley told the newspaper that the entire power dynamic became clearer when he turned 35, which is the age at which he and Nori first met. It really began to hammer home when combined with the #MeToo movement, which spread stories of grooming and power abuses in the industry.

People are going to ridicule me and say, ‘This is your own fault.’ And then I got over caring about that. I didn’t hold back. I kind of got to a point where I’m like, ‘I don’t care what people take away from it.’ That was the only way I could write the book. And I think having that freedom may let me be as honest as I could be. Deryck Whibley

Deryck Whibley’s Walking Disaster book is now available for purchase.