[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley is opening up about the alleged abuse he suffered at the hands of his former band manager.
The In Too Deep singer’s memoir Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell hit bookshelves on Tuesday. In it, for the first time, Deryck details allegations of verbal abuse, sexual abuse, and grooming against his former and much-older band manager Greig Nori (pictured above, circular inset).
He details meeting Greig, who was a musician in his own band Treble Charger, backstage at one of their shows. At the time, Deryck was just 16 years old, and invited Greig, who was 34 at the time, to come see his own band Sum 41 play live. Greig quickly became a mentor and ultimately the band’s manager, helping the young musicians break into the music scene. However, the Still Waiting singer says Greig had one eerie requirement: “Total control.” Whibley recalled in the book:
“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.”
Deryck says one night when he was 18 years old, Greig grabbed his face and “passionately” kissed him while they were in a bathroom stall doing ecstasy. He recalls being shocked, but that Greig convinced them “what [they] had was so special” and that it was nothing out of the ordinary because “many of my rock star idols were queer.”
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Deryck goes on to allege Greig also tried to drive a wedge between him and his bandmates and all their parents. He told the Los Angeles Times on Monday:
“He tried to keep them away all the time. Now it makes more sense. … He knew they would get suspicious of the way things were running. He would always be like, ‘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.’”
That’s so predatory! These musicians were really just kids and this dude allegedly took advantage of their impressionable young minds!
When Deryck ultimately tired to end his physical relationship with Greig, he says the manager got upset, accused him of being homophobic, and claimed the lead singer “owed” him. Sheesh… But when the sexual abuse was finally over, Deryck says the verbal and psychological abuse only got more intense.
Finally, Sum 41 parted ways with Greig in 2005. And a year later, Deryck married Avril Lavigne. They were together for four years before their divorce, and then Deryck got remarried to his current wife Ariana Cooper in 2015. He admits in the book that he confided in both women about his experiences with Greig, and that they both told him it was abusive behavior. But it was ultimately the #MeToo Movement that gave Deryck, now 44, the courage to tell his story. He told the Los Angeles Times that writing his memoir was a “good way to move on from my past.”
In an Instagram post shared on Monday, Deryck wrote:
“As excited as I am to share this open and honest memoir of my life story tomorrow, I’m equally just as terrified.”
We’re so glad he’s sharing his story. He’s incredibly brave for doing so!
As of now, Greig, now 61, has not responded to the allegations.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources