Deryck Whibley hints at legal action against former manager
Deryck Whibley has threatened legal action against his former manager Greig Nori, shortly after accusing him of abuse and grooming.
Deryck Whibley has threatened legal action against his former manager.
The Sum 41 frontman alleged in his new memoir 'Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell' that he was "groomed" by Greig Nori and "pressured" into a sexual relationship but after the Treble Charger singer insisted the 'Fat Lip' hitmaker, who was 16 when they met, had "initiated" things between them, Deryck has now hit back and denied he has lied about the situation.
In a video shared to Instagram, the rocker said: “I take no pleasure in coming out with the truth about what happened between me and my ex-manager, but it was something that I just couldn’t keep in anymore, and I had to let it out.
"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.
“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. Anytime you want. I’m ready. Whenever you are.”
Deryck ended his message by thanking his friends, family and bandmates for their support.
He added: “We’ll get through this like we get through everything else.”
In his book, Deryck alleged his mentor - who is 18 years older - "passionately" kissed him in a bathroom during a night out when he was 18, leaving the singer confused and shocked as he had never been attracted to men before.
He claimed Nori urged him to explore their connection as many rock stars were "queer" and "most people are bisexual; they’re just too afraid to admit it.”
He added: "He was so relentless and convincing that after a while, I started to believe that maybe he was right."
The manager told Deryck he had never been attracted to another man but he had "brought it out in him because what we had was so special."
After experimenting with his sexuality for a few months, the 'In To Deep' hitmaker wanted to end their physical encounters but claimed Nori called him "homophobic" and got angry when he tried to call things off.
Deryck wrote: "He told me this was all my fault to begin with because I should never have said yes to it in the first place. I started this and now he was in it with me so I couldn’t just stop."
He eventually told a mutual friend about their alleged relationship, who branded it "abuse".
In response, Nori didn't directly address the allegations of abuse or grooming but insisted he hadn't instigated anything sexual with Deryck.
He told the Toronto Star newspaper in a statement: “The accusation that I initiated the relationship is false. I did not initiate it. Whibley initiated it, aggressively.”