Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley has responded strongly to his former manager Greig Nori, who denied claims of sexual and verbal abuse made by Whibley in his memoir ‘Walking Disaster.’ In the book, Whibley described how their relationship started as sexual and later turned verbally abusive.
“It’s been an extremely heavy week for me. I take no pleasure in coming out with the truth that came out between me and my ex-manager, but it was something that I couldn’t keep in anymore and I had to let it out,” the frontman said in a recently shared video on social media. “It’s come to my attention that Greig Nori has now called me a liar. I tell you right now I stand behind every word that’s in my book, 100 percent.”
“I’m not a liar and I’m going to speak to you directly. Greig Nori, if you think I’m a liar, there’s only one way to settle this… under oath… in front of a judge, in front of a jury, any time you want. I’m ready whenever you are,” he continued. Whibley finished the video by thanking his fans. “To everyone else, I just want to thank you for all the love and support. My band, may family, thank you all. Of course the fans, I’ll see you again soon and we’ll get through this.”
A few days before the video, Nori denied the accusations to the Toronto Star. “The accusation that I initiated the relationship is false. I did not initiate it. Whibley initiated it, aggressively,” he claimed. “When the relationship began Whibley was an adult, as was I. 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.”
The claims first appeared when Whibley released his book on October 8. “We were jammed in a gross bathroom stall and I was talking non-stop, when he reached over, grabbed my face, and kissed me on the mouth passionately. I was very confused. Was that OK? Was I upset? Did I like it? Was he gay? Was he just high and being crazy? So many thoughts were coming at me so quickly that I couldn’t comprehend them,” he wrote.
The rocker didn’t realize it was abuse until his then-girlfriend Avril Lavigne mentioned so. “That’s abuse! He sexually abused you,” the singer told Whibley.
Sum 41 are on their final tour before retiring after promoting their album ‘Heaven X Hell.’ Their next tour dates start on October 21 in the Netherlands as part of their European and U.K. shows.
So, I guess it has come to this… pic.twitter.com/FZEpSgvpTX
— Sum 41 (@Sum41) October 15, 2024