Three months after Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley accused his former manager Greig Nori of sexual abuse, the two musicians are in a legal battle.
Whibley’s explosive allegations first appeared in his memoir, “Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell,” which was published last October. In the book, the pop-punk vocalist accuses Nori of coercing him into a non-consensual sexual relationship when Nori was in his 30s and Whibley was a teenager.
Nori denied the accusations, and in a statement provided to the Star, claimed that it was Whibley who initiated what became a consensual relationship between two adults. Whibley responded with a video posted on social media, in which he reiterated the claims he made in his book, and challenged Nori to settle things in court.
It’s a challenge that Nori appears to have accepted. On Jan. 3, Nori filed a notice of action with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against Whibley and his memoir’s publisher, Simon & Schuster.
According to court documents viewed by the Star, Nori intends to seek $6 million in damages for “libel, breach of confidence, intrusion upon seclusion, wrongful disclosure of private facts, and placing the plaintiff in a false light.”
In the statement provided to the Star in October, Nori claimed that Whibley’s accusations were made “without giving me any opportunity to respond to them.” The night before Whibley’s book was published, Nori told the Globe and Mail that he was not aware of the allegations until media coverage of the book began.
On Jan. 6, Whibley filed his own notice of action with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The notice seeks $3 million in damages for “defamation and placing the plaintiff in a false light.”
“The plaintiff’s claim relates to statements and comments made by the defendant about the plaintiff to various media outlets that were then published by those media outlets,” the notice states. “Among other things, the defendant accused the plaintiff of being a liar and making false allegations about the defendant in the plaintiff’s autobiography.”
Representatives for Whibley and Nori did not respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Simon & Schuster also did not respond.
Neither legal action has been tested in court.
Sum 41 was formed in Ajax, Ontario, in 1996. In 1999, the band signed an international record deal with Island Records.
During the 2000s, Nori was an established figure in the country’s music scene. He was a host of the MuchMusic reality show “Disband,” and produced music for Canadian rock acts including Hedley and Marianas Trench. He was also the frontman of the band Treble Charger.
In Whibley’s memoir, he wrote that Nori pressured him into a “toxic” relationship that was all-consuming. Whibley wrote that Nori offered advice, gifted him with musical equipment and allegedly introduced him to ecstasy.
Prior to Nori’s denial, Whibley expressed his confidence in taking his accusations to court.
“You can’t sue (someone) for telling the truth,” Whibley told writer Nick Krewen in an interview with the Star. “If he wants to challenge it, I welcome that. Let’s go to court. Let’s go under oath. That would be f — king great! I welcome that part. Let’s get into discovery. I’ll have my lawyers grill you. They can grill me all they want. I mean, that would be f — king perfect! Finally, let’s get it on record!”
The arrival of Whibley’s memoir comes 27 years after Sum 41 broke onto the music scene. Buoyed by hits like “Fat Lip” and “In Too Deep,” the band went on to sell over 15 million records worldwide.
Last fall, the band announced that it plans to call it quits following their farewell tour through North America, which concludes with a pair of dates at Scotiabank Arena on Jan. 28 and 30.
With files from Nick Krewen.
