Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley is alleging in a brand new memoir that he was groomed and sexually abused by the band’s former supervisor Greig Nori, when he was a teen and Nori was in his 30s.
The claims, first reported in a characteristic by the Los Angeles Instances, seem in Whibley’s e-book Strolling Catastrophe: My Life By way of Heaven and Hell. In it, Whibley writes that Nori kissed him with out consent and instigated sexual encounters throughout Sum 41’s early life in Ajax, Ont., and into the early 2000s.
Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 performs on stage at Brixton Academy, London, 2001.
Martyn Goodacre/Getty Photos
Whibley by no means advised his bandmates concerning the alleged abuse, and solely confided in then-partner Avril Lavigne and his present spouse Ariana Cooper, who helped him perceive the connection between himself and Nori as abusive. After years of reflection and studying concerning the MeToo motion, Whibley advised the L.A. Instances he realized he had been groomed.
“As excited as I’m to share this open and sincere memoir of my life story, I’m equally simply as terrified,” a put up on the Sum 41 Instagram web page reads.
Nori, a musician from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., denies the claims within the e-book as “false allegations.” He advised the Globe and Mail that he has retained a defamation lawyer.
Greig Nori (R) photographed with Ludacris (L) backstage at ‘Saturday Night time Stay’ on Jan. 21, 2005.
Stephen Lovekin/FilmMagic
The allegations
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In Strolling Catastrophe, Whibley describes assembly Nori for the primary time when he snuck backstage at a Treble Charger live performance when he was 16. On the time, Whibley was in highschool attempting to make his music goals come true, and Nori, the frontman of Treble Charger, was his hero.
Whibley invited Nori to certainly one of Sum 41’s upcoming performances, sparking a mentorship that may ultimately develop into Nori managing the band.
Greig Nori, lead singer of the rock band Treble Charger, cheers on the gang because the band performs to greater than 50,000 individuals celebrating the brand new Dundas Sq. in Toronto at its grand opening night, Friday Might 30, 2003.
Tannis Toohey/Toronto Star through Getty Photos
One evening when Whibley was 18, he and Nori have been at a rave when the older musician requested Whibley to come back to the lavatory to do ecstasy with him. Inside the lavatory stall, Whibley writes that Nori grabbed him and “passionately” kissed him.
Nori allegedly advised the Sum 41 frontman that the pair shared a “particular” connection and the connection was price exploring. Nori would have been round 36 years previous on the time.
On the time, Whibley tried to brush off the encounter as a result of Nori was a trusted determine in his life.
“It appeared like a cool experiment after I was excessive, however after I was sober, it felt mistaken,” Whibley writes. “Greig stored pushing for issues to occur after we have been collectively. I began feeling like I used to be being pressured to do one thing towards my will. It was an odd feeling as a result of for probably the most half I trusted Greig utterly and nonetheless thought he was a fantastic human being, which made all of it so complicated.”
Whibley writes that he tried quite a few occasions to finish the sexual side of their relationship, solely to be accused of homophobia by Nori. The Treble Charger frontman allegedly advised Whibley he “owed” him for serving to to get Sum 41 off the bottom.
A photograph of Sum 41 from a photograph shoot in San Francisco on Jan. 26, 2002.
Steve Jennings/WireImage
In 2004, Whibley began relationship Lavigne, a fellow Canadian pop-punk star, and he shared what had occurred between him and Nori.
“That’s abuse! He sexually abused you,” Lavigne advised Whibley, in accordance with the memoir. Lavigne and Whibley cut up up in 2009 after three years of marriage. Whibley’s present spouse, Ariana Cooper, had the same response when he advised her, he stated.
Finally, Whibley says Nori stopped attempting to stress him into sexual encounters after a mutual good friend realized of the connection and stated it was abusive. In 2005, Sum 41 fired Nori as its supervisor.
Avril Lavigne and Deryck Whibley within the viewers in the course of the 2007 American Music Awards held on Nov. 18, 2007 in Los Angeles.
Kevin Winter/AMA/Getty Photos
As Whibley received older, ultimately hitting the age that Nori was after they first met, the Sum 41 frontman started to higher perceive the ability imbalance of their relationship.
“All of it turned so clear,” Whibley advised the L.A. Instances. “Then a couple of 12 months later, the Me Too factor began taking place. I began listening to tales of grooming, and it began to make sense.”
In an interview with the Toronto Star, Whibley stated he’s not nervous concerning the potential authorized fallout of the memoir.
“You may’t sue (somebody) for telling the reality,” Whibley stated. “If he desires to problem it, I welcome that. Let’s go to courtroom. Let’s go beneath oath. That may be f—king nice! I welcome that half…. Lastly, let’s get it on file!”
Sum 41 is at the moment touring its last-ever spherical of reveals, and have booked Toronto’s Scotiabank Enviornment on Jan. 30, 2025 as their last cease.
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