Deryck Whibley accuses Treble Charger's Greig Nori of sexual abuse in new memoir

Sum 41's Deryck Whibley is accusing his former manager and Treble Charger frontman, Greig Nori, of grooming and sexual abuse in his newly released memoir, Walking Disaster. 

In various interviews, Whibley opened up about his "deep, dark secret," as he described to the Toronto Star. Whibley first met Nori when Whibley was 16 and his local pop-punk hero was 34; Whibley said Nori quickly became a mentor, and even gave Whibley and bandmate Steve Jocz their first alcoholic drinks. 

Nori's role soon evolved into becoming Sum 41's manager. "Greig had one requirement to be our manager — he wanted total control," Whibley wrote, according to an excerpt published in the L.A. 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 wrote that the relationship between him and Nori became sexual when Whibley was 18. Excerpts detailed that, during a rave the two attended, Nori invited Whibley into the bathroom to take ecstasy. In the stall, Nori allegedly grabbed Whibley and kissed him. Whibley wrote that Nori tried to convince him to take their relationship further by explaining many rock stars were queer.

Whibley alleged that when he rejected Nori's advances, Nori became psychologically and verbally abusive. Whibley wrote that Nori finally stopped making sexual advances when a mutual friend discovered what had happened. While Whibley said his bandmates never knew about the abuse, the band fired Nori after its third studio album, Chuck. Nori produced Chuck and Sum 41's sophomore album, Does This Look Infected?.

Whibley said that he did confide in his then-wife Avril Lavigne about Nori's behaviour and she responded, according to the L.A. Times: "That's abuse! He sexually abused you." Whibley told the Times that he also shared this experience with his current wife, Ariana Cooper, who reacted similarly. 

Neither Nori nor his representatives responded to requests for comment from CBC News as of the evening of Oct. 10. In a new statement to the Toronto Star, Nori denies Whibley's claims, saying their relationship was consensual. "The accusation that I initiated the relationship is false," Nori wrote to the Toronto Star. "I did not initiate it. Whibley initiated it, aggressively.

"When the relationship began Whibley was an adult, as was I," Nori continued. "The accusation that I pressured Whibley to continue the relationship is false. The accusation that I pressured Whibley to continue the relationship by accusing him of homophobia is false. Ultimately the relationship simply faded out. Consensually. Our business relationship continued."

Nori also told the Globe and Mail that he had retained a defamation lawyer.

In an interview with CBC Music earlier this year for the series 5 Songs That Changed My Life, Whibley discussed the process of putting together his first book and the difference between writing music and writing a memoir. "It felt similar in some ways," he said, "because I've always written very honestly about myself ... [this memoir] felt like, OK, now I can actually get really into some of these stories and expand on them." 

Speaking generally about the process, and not specifically about any one experience, he continued: "As I'm writing the story, I sort of leave myself and I just become a writer, and I'm just writing facts. And then I sit back, read it and go, 'F--k, am I going to be that honest about that particular thing?' Like, I just wrote it because it was part of the story, like a diary entry or something, where you think nobody's going to read it, and then you read it back and you're like, 'Holy shit, people are going to read this? I'm actually going to put this out?' So I'm like, oh f--k, OK, hold your nose and just got for it and hope for the best." 

Sum 41 is currently on its final tour. Last year, the band released a statement announcing that it would be disbanding. Its eighth and final album, Heaven :x: Hell, came out on March 29. 

Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.