Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley has accused his former manager Greig Nori of sexually assaulting him over a four-year period.
In his memoir, “Walking Disaster: My Life through Heaven and Hell,” published Tuesday, October 8, Deryck Whibley, frontman of the Canadian rock group Sum 41, accused his former manager of sexual, psychological and verbal abuse.
According to his testimony, the musician met Greig Nori, then frontman of the punk band Treble Charger, at the age of 16, after sneaking backstage at one of their concerts. Subsequently, aged 34 at the time, he became co-writer and co-producer of Sum 41, and then their manager.
“Greig had only one requirement to be our manager: he wanted total control. We couldn’t talk to anyone but him because the music industry is “full of snakes and liars,” and he was “the only person we could trust,” it read. in excerpts published by the Los Angeles Times.
At 18, his former mentor, who was the first to introduce him to alcohol, kissed him “passionately” in the toilets of a rave party, after having consumed ecstasy. He was then forced into an “unwanted sexual relationship.”
The singer also claimed that Greig Nori encouraged him and other band members to cut ties with their families. “He always said, ‘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,’” he said.
Greig Nori denies accusations
While the alleged victim tried to end these sexual relations, the former manager accused him of homophobia. When this “relationship” ended four years later, the verbal and psychological abuse took over, even intensifying when he began dating Avril Lavigne, to whom he was married from 2006 to 2009.
It was the latter who notably allowed him to become aware of the abusive nature of this relationship, declaring: “It’s abuse! He sexually abused you.” “It’s a deep, dark secret that I thought I would take to my grave,” the artist told the media Toronto Star.
For his part, Greig Nori, who stopped working with Sum 41 in 2005, called the accusations “false” and would consider filing a suit for defamation.
The group Sum 41, formed in 1996, enjoyed dazzling success with their album “All Killer No Filler”, notably thanks to the hit “Fat Lip”. The lead singer also found himself in the spotlight for his relationships with Paris Hilton and Avril Lavigne.
Their album “Heaven:x: Hell” was released in May 2023, and will be the last, after 27 years of career. The group is currently on tour with “The Final World Tour”, and will perform on November 23, 2024 at Paris La Défense Arena.
