Sum 41 band member Deryck Whibley has unleashed bombshell accusations against the group's former manager.
In new excerpts from his memoir called Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell, Whibley accuses former manager Greig Nori of sexual abuse and grooming. In the book, he claims that the abuse began when he was 16 and Nori was 34.
The snippets of the book have been obtained by the Los Angeles Times. In one incident Whibley claimed that Nori cornered him in a bathroom stall at a rave and "passionately" kissed him. Over time, Whibley claims that he was manipulated by Nori after Nori called him homophobic if he didn't reciprocate.
The "In Too Deep" hitmaker shared that Nori said he "owed" his then-manager for his career, and claimed that Nori pressured him into continuing the relationship because "so many of my rock star idols were queer."
"Greig had one requirement to be our manager — he wanted total control. 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," he writes in the book.
Whibley shared that the Me Too movement helped him make sense of what happened to him.
"It all became so clear. Then about a year later, the Me Too thing started happening. I started hearing stories of grooming, and it all started to make sense," he wrote.
Nori has not spoken about the allegations as of reporting. However, Whibley has spoken to Rolling Stone about the allegations he reveals in his book.
"I always thought that I would take this to my grave and I wouldn't say anything. As I started getting into the book, I felt like, 'How could I not be honest?" he told the outlet.
Whibley reportedly didn't tell his bandmates about the alleged abuse that happened to him over the years. Nori was fired from the band in 2005 at Whibley's urging, the Los Angeles Times reports. At the time, it was said they parted ways over Nori's alleged professional failings.
Whibley would go on to marry pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne, who he says was the first person to reveal to him that he suffered abuse at the hands of Nori.
"That's abuse! [Nori] sexually abused you," she allegedly told him in an excerpt.
Lavigne and Whibley eventually divorced. He has since married Ariana Cooper. They have been married for 10 years now.
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