Deryck Whibley has alleged that Treble Charger vocalist Greig Nori — who was Sum 41's former manager — sexually and verbally abused him.
Whibley writes about the relationship in his new memoir, Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell, out tomorrow (October 8). They met when Whibley was 16 and Nori was 33 or 34, and Nori became Sum 41's manager.
Whibley writes. "Greig had one requirement to be our manager — he wanted total control." The relationship turned sexual when Whibley was 18 [via the Los Angeles Times] and took ecstasy at a warehouse party with Nori.
"We were jammed in a gross bathroom stall and I was talking non-stop, when he reached over, grabbed my face, and kissed me on the mouth passionately," Whibley writes. "I was very confused. Was that OK? Was I upset? Did I like it? Was he gay? Was he just high and being crazy? So many thoughts were coming at me so quickly that I couldn't comprehend them."
The relationship continued after that encounter, and Whibley alleges that he tried to put a stop to their sexual encounters [via the Toronto Star], but Nori would get angry and accuse him of being homophobic, saying that Whibley "owed" him.
He writes, "Greig kept pushing for things to happen when we were together. I started feeling like I was being pressured to do something against my will." Years later, when Whibley told then-wife Avril Lavigne about the encounter, he writes that she told him, "That's abuse! He sexually abused you."
Whibley writes that the encounters stopped after a mutual friend learned of the relationship and said that it was abusive. According to Whibley, the alleged verbal abuse continued, with Nori apparently discouraging the members of Sum 41 from being in touch with their own parents. The band eventually fired Nori in 2005.
Whibley writes that Nori made Whibley ghostwrite songs for Treble Charger and other bands; in 2018, Whibley reportedly received a share of ghostwritten copyrights from Nori in an out-of-court settlement.
Whibley told the Toronto Star that Nori hasn't yet read the book. "You can't sue [someone] for telling the truth," he said about his decision to come forward. "If he wants to challenge it, I welcome that. Let's go to court. Let's go under oath. That would be fucking great! I welcome that part. Let's get into discovery. I'll have my lawyers grill you. They can grill me all they want. I mean, that would be fucking perfect! Finally, let's get it on record!"
Nori didn't respond to requests for comment from either the Los Angeles Times or the Toronto Star.