Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley Details Alleged Sexual + Verbal Abuse by Former Manager

One of the big revelations to come from Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley‘s new memoir Walking Disaster is a detailed breakdown of the alleged sexual and verbal abuse he claims to have received while the band was being managed by Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori.

The singer told the Los Angeles Times that in going through the process of reflecting on his life and feeling that with the book offering him a chance to close a chapter on his past, now was the time to come clean about this tightly-held segment of his past.

What Deryck Whibley Said About Greig Nori

Within the book, the singer alleges that Nori, who was Sum 41’s first manager, had groomed him, both sexually and verbally abusing him for years. The two musicians first met when he was 16 and Nori was 34.

They first crossed paths when Whibley snuck backstage at a Treble Charger show and invited Nori to come see his band. The Sum 41 singer says a friendship sparked where he began to ask Nori band and music-related questions and Nori became a songwriting mentor before coming on board as the band’s first manager.

“Greig had one requirement to be our manager — he wanted total control,” Whibley wrote in the 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.”

The singer says the relationship changed though when he was 18 and got intoxicated at a rave. In the book, Whibley details Nori allegedly asking him to come to a bathroom stall to drop a hit of ecstasy before grabbing his face and passionately kissing him.

The singer says he was stunned by the advance, but says that Nori reasoned that while he’d never experience same-sex attraction before, [Whibley] “brought it out in him because what [they] had was so special.” Whibley also says in the book that Nori also told Whibley that what they were doing was worth exploring as “so many of my rock star idols were queer.”

Whibley says that he attempted to end the physical encounters with Nori, but the manager would turn the tables on him, calling him homophobic, revealing why Whibley “owed” him and accusing the musician of actually allowing the relationship to start.

Who Knew?

In speaking with the Los Angeles Times, Whibley says he kept the relationship with Nori close to the vest. He explained that he eventually shared that secret with his then future wife Avril Lavigne when they were dating in 2004 and the pop-rock star telling Whibley that the relationship was a case of sexual abuse. Whibley also told his current wife Ariana Cooper, who shared the same reaction as Lavigne about the singer’s relationship with Nori.

In the book, Whibley reveals that the sexual side of the relationship with Nori came to an end when a mutual friend had learned what had happened and confronted both of them about the relationship constituting abuse.

The singer also revealed to the L.A. Times that he had not told his bandmates, both former and current, about the relationship with Nori and that he had not told Nori about the allegations in the book, though he felt conflicted about warning him.

“I don’t owe him anything,” Whibley explained.. And yet he acknowledges that he still feels like he does. “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.”

Deryck Whibley Alleges Other Form of Abuse

Though the sexual nature of the relationship ended, Nori remained the band’s manager and Whibley alleges that the verbal abuse from Nori intensified and that the manager also started trying to pit the band against Whibley at times.

Whibley wrote in the book that Nori had encouraged the group to add him as a co-writer on many of their songs to give them more industry cred given his veteran status. But after his dismissal from the group, Whibley sued Nori to win back the songwriting share of the band’s publishing credits.

Eventually, Whibley pushed for Nori’s dismissal as their manager. He chose to leave out the personal nature of their relationship, but argued with his bandmates over Nori’s managerial failings. After initially receiving pushback from his bandmates, the group did eventually part ways with Nori after 2005’s Chuck album.

He also alleges that Nori’s control also branched out to that band members parents, stating that he tried to keep the families away as much as possible.

“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.’”

The Los Angeles Times revealed that Nori was contacted about the article and declined comment.

Why Now?

The inevitable question that often comes with a big reveal is “Why now?” The singer’s comfort level with being able to address it publicly after having years to process it while also going through the process of writing the book is the why. It’s given him the platform while also being in the mindset of reflection of telling the good and the bad from a place of trying to be honest about your life.

READ MORE: Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley Announces His Memoir

Whibley told the paper that upon reaching his 35th birthday, the age that Nori was when they had first met, the whole power dynamic became more clear. That, combined with the #MeToo movement in which stories were shared about industry abuses of power and stories of grooming being shared really started to hit home.

As for broaching the topic now all these years later, he says, “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’s Walking Disaster book is available today (Oct. 8).

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, resources are available for help. Visit the RAINN website (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) or dial 800-656-HOPE (800-656-4673).