Sum 41 musician Deryck Whibley says he was the sufferer of sexual, psychological and verbal abuse by the hands of a former supervisor throughout his ascent to worldwide fame.
In his memoir, “Walking Disaster: My Life through Heaven and Hell,” Whibley accuses former supervisor Greig Nori ― also referred to as the frontman of Treble Charger, a Canadian rock band ― of “grooming” and pressuring him to be in a sexual relationship.
In keeping with Whibley’s e book, the alleged abuse started when Whibley was 16 and Nori was 34. The pair met backstage at a Treble Charger live performance, with Nori transferring on to change into Whibley’s songwriting mentor and, later, Sum 41’s supervisor.
“Greig had one requirement to be our manager — he wanted total control,” Whibley writes within the e book, in accordance with excerpts that appeared Tuesday within the Los Angeles Instances. “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 particulars one particular incident that came about when he was 18, throughout which Nori “passionately” kissed him in a toilet stall after the 2 males had taken ecstasy. From that time on, the rock musician claims that Nori instructed him to pursue the connection as a result of “so many of my rock star idols were queer. … Most people are bisexual; they’re just too afraid to admit it.”
Pedro Gomes by way of Getty Photos
When Whibley tried to finish their bodily encounters, he mentioned Nori claimed he “owed” him for reinforcing his music profession, and accused him of being homophobic. The psychological and verbal abuse allegedly intensified after Whibley started a relationship with fellow musician Avril Lavigne, to whom he was married from 2006 to 2009.
Along with the abuse, Whibley additionally instructed the Los Angeles Instances that Nori urged him and his bandmates to sever ties with their households as a result of “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,’” he mentioned.
Nori, who was fired by Sum 41 after the discharge of the 2005 album “Chuck,” didn’t instantly reply to HuffPost’s request for touch upon Whibley’s claims.
Elsewhere within the e book, Whibley credit Lavigne in addition to his present spouse, Ariana Cooper, with clarifying to him that Nori’s conduct was abuse. The rise of the Me Too motion, he mentioned, made it “so clear.”
“I started hearing stories of grooming, and it all started to make sense,” he mentioned.
In an Instagram put up tied to the Instances article, Whibley wrote: “As excited as I am to share this open and honest memoir of my life story tomorrow, I’m equally just as terrified.”
Sum 41 launched what’s billed as their last album, “Heaven :x: Hell,” in March. The band’s present tour will take them to Los Angeles, London and different cities earlier than wrapping in Toronto in January.
Need assistance? Go to RAINN’s Nationwide Sexual Assault On-line Hotline or the Nationwide Sexual Violence Useful resource Middle’s web site.
