Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley accuses ex-manager of sexual abuse

Sum 41 musician Deryck Whibley says he was the victim of sexual, psychological and verbal abuse from a former manager during his rise to global fame.

In his memoir Walking Disaster: My Life through Heaven and Hell, Whibley accuses former manager Greig Nori – also known as the frontman of the Canadian rock band Treble Charger – of “grooming” him and pressuring him into a sexual relationship.

According to Whibley’s book, the alleged abuse began when Whibley was 16 and Nori was 34. The pair met backstage at a Treble Charger concert, and Nori became Whibley’s songwriting mentor and later Sum 41’s manager.

“Greig had one requirement for being our manager — he wanted total control,” Whibley writes in the book, according to excerpts published Tuesday in the 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 describes a specific incident that occurred when he was 18 in which Nori kissed him “passionately” in a bathroom stall after the two men had taken ecstasy. From that point on, the rock musician claimed that Nori told him to pursue the relationship because “so many of my rock star idols were queer.”…Most people are bisexual; They’re just too afraid to admit it.”

When Whibley tried to end their physical encounters, he said Nori claimed he owed him for furthering his music career and accused him of being homophobic. The psychological and verbal abuse allegedly increased after Whibley began a relationship with fellow musician Avril Lavigne, to whom he was married from 2006 to 2009.

In addition to the abuse, Whibley also told the Los Angeles Times that Nori pressured him and his bandmates to cut ties with their families because “he knew they would become suspicious about how things were going.” “

“He always said, ‘You can’t have a relationship with your parents and be in a rock band at the same time.’ It’s not cool. “It will hurt your career,” he said.

Nori, who was fired from Sum 41 after the release of the 2005 album “Chuck,” did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment on Whibley’s claims.

Elsewhere in the book, Whibley credits Lavigne and his now-wife Ariana Cooper with making it clear to him that Nori’s behavior was abusive. The rise of the Me Too movement, he said, has made it “so clear.”

“I started hearing stories about personal care and it all started to make sense,” he said.

In an Instagram post accompanying the Times article, Whibley wrote, “As excited as I am to share this open and honest memoir of my life story tomorrow, I’m also terrified.”

Sum 41 released what they said was their final album, “Heaven :x: Hell,” in March. The band’s current tour takes them to Los Angeles, London and other cities before ending in Toronto in January.

Do you need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center website.