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 function by the Los Angeles Instances, seem in Whibley’s ebook Strolling Catastrophe: My Life By Heaven and Hell. In it, Whibley writes that Nori kissed him with out consent and instigated sexual encounters throughout Sum 41’s youth in Ajax, Ont., and into the early 2000s.
Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 performs on stage at Brixton Academy, London, 2001.
Martyn Goodacre/Getty Pictures
Whibley by no means instructed 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 instructed 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 submit on the Sum 41 Instagram web page reads.
Nori, a musician from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., denies the claims within the ebook as “false allegations.” He instructed the Globe and Mail that he has retained a defamation lawyer.
Greig Nori (R) photographed with Ludacris (L) backstage at ‘Saturday Night time Reside’ 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 desires come true, and Nori, the frontman of Treble Charger, was his hero.
Whibley invited Nori to one in every of Sum 41’s upcoming performances, sparking a mentorship that may finally develop into Nori managing the band.
Greig Nori, lead singer of the rock band Treble Charger, cheers on the group because the band performs to greater than 50,000 folks celebrating the brand new Dundas Sq. in Toronto at its grand opening night, Friday Might 30, 2003.
Tannis Toohey/Toronto Star through Getty Pictures
One evening when Whibley was 18, he and Nori had been at a rave when the older musician requested Whibley to return to the toilet to do ecstasy with him. Inside the toilet stall, Whibley writes that Nori grabbed him and “passionately” kissed him.
Nori allegedly instructed 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 once I was excessive, however once I was sober, it felt mistaken,” Whibley writes. “Greig saved pushing for issues to occur once we had been collectively. I began feeling like I used to be being pressured to do one thing in opposition to 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 an incredible human being, which made all of it so complicated.”
Whibley writes that he tried quite a few occasions to finish the sexual facet of their relationship, solely to be accused of homophobia by Nori. The Treble Charger frontman allegedly instructed 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 instructed Whibley, in keeping with the memoir. Lavigne and Whibley cut up up in 2009 after three years of marriage. Whibley’s present spouse, Ariana Cooper, had an analogous response when he instructed her, he stated.
Finally, Whibley says Nori stopped attempting to strain him into sexual encounters after a mutual buddy discovered 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 Pictures
As Whibley acquired older, finally hitting the age that Nori was once they first met, the Sum 41 frontman started to raised perceive the ability imbalance of their relationship.
“All of it turned so clear,” Whibley instructed the L.A. Instances. “Then a couple of yr later, the Me Too factor began occurring. 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 anxious concerning the potential authorized fallout of the memoir.
“You possibly can’t sue (somebody) for telling the reality,” Whibley stated. “If he needs to problem it, I welcome that. Let’s go to courtroom. Let’s go below oath. That may be f—king nice! I welcome that half…. Lastly, let’s get it on report!”
Sum 41 is at the moment touring its last-ever spherical of reveals, and have booked Toronto’s Scotiabank Area on Jan. 30, 2025 as their remaining cease.
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