NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – Deryck Whibley, the vocalist of Sum 41, has released his memoir Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell on Monday (October 8) via Gallery Books. In the memoir, Whibley opens up about being sexually and verbally abused by the band’s former manager, Greig Nori, when he was a teenager. Whibley, who was 16 when Nori first started managing Sum 41, shares the experience in an interview with the Los Angeles Times ahead of the book’s release.
According to Whibley, Nori, the frontman of Treble Charger, had been his idol before becoming his manager. At 18, Nori reportedly kissed Whibley at a rave, leading to a pressured physical relationship. Whibley recalls Nori trying to convince him to continue the relationship, suggesting that many rock stars were bisexual and that most people were just “too afraid to admit it.” When Whibley attempted to end things, Nori accused him of being homophobic and claimed Whibley “owed” him for his help with the band.
The physical encounters stopped after a mutual friend found out, but the verbal and psychological abuse intensified. Nori allegedly manipulated the band dynamic, even demanding songwriting credits on Sum 41 tracks. Whibley and the band eventually fired Nori in 2005 after the Chuck album cycle, and Whibley later sued Nori successfully over songwriting credits.
Whibley explains that dating Avril Lavigne in 2004 was when he realized that he had been abused. “That’s abuse! He sexually abused you,” Lavigne told him, according to the book. Reflecting on the situation, Whibley says it took turning 35, nine years ago, to fully grasp the power imbalance between him and Nori. He began to connect the dots during the rise of the #MeToo movement.
The memoir’s release coincides with a brief book tour. Sum 41 will also resume their final tour later this month, with the last leg concluding in January 2025.
