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Telegraph
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The disturbing underbelly of the Christian music business
You may have never heard of Michael Tait. But the 59-year-old musician from Washington DC has been a kingpin of America's Christian music scene since the 1980s. In a career spanning five decades, Tait has had 50 number one singles and 10 number one albums in the Christian charts, sold 18 million LPs and won four Grammys. Tait has prayed on stage with President Trump and his 2011 hit God's Not Dead became an anthem for the Maga movement. The singer's fame and power in the multi-million dollar Christian music industry is hard to overstate. You may also be unaware that Christian music is booming right now. Spotify streams of so-called Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) – that's pop, rap, R&B or guitar music with faith as its lyrical mainstay – have hit record highs, with growth of over 60 per cent in five years. To illustrate, a bluesy ballad released last November called Hard Fought Hallelujah by US singers Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll – 'God, You've been patient/ God, You've been gracious,' go the lyrics – has garnered the largest ever number of weekly streams for a song released by a Christian artist (6.8 million). It has spent 20 weeks in the main US's singles chart while, in the UK, Hard Fought Hallelujah is still number one in a chart compiled by Stoke-on-Trent Christian radio station Cross Rhythms. The accompanying Brandon Lake album reached number 30 in the UK downloads chart last month. God, evidently, rocks. And yet the genre's biblical growth could be torpedoed by the biggest scandal since CCM emerged as a cultural force in the late-1960s. A recent investigation by Christian website The Roys Report accused Tait of grooming and sexually assaulting three men, all aged 22, between 2004 and 2014. The two-and-a-half-year investigation by journalist Jessica Morris, which involved interviews with over 50 sources and was published on June 4, opened with the words: 'It's been called Nashville's worst-kept secret.' In an Instagram post titled 'My Confession' six days after Morris's piece ran, Tait shocked observers even more. He admitted that the reports of his 'reckless and destructive behaviour', including drug and alcohol abuse and sexual activity, are 'sadly, largely true'. For two decades, Tait wrote, he 'at times, touched men in an unwanted sensual way'. He called it a 'sin' and said he'd been leading a double life, adding: 'While I might dispute certain details in the accusations against me, I do not dispute the substance of them.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Michael Tait (@michaeltait) Things didn't end there. Three days later the Guardian published a second investigation, accusing Tait of sexually assaulting more men, two of whom believed they were drugged, and engaging in inappropriate behaviour with others. Within days, The Roys Report published a third story in which a woman accused Tait of drugging her and watching while she was raped in a third-floor Fargo, North Dakota hotel room in 2014. Tait has not responded to these later accusations. The Telegraph approached him for comment. The allegations have shocked the Christian music world to the core. 'I hope the CCM industry crumbles. And f--- all of you who knew and didn't do a damn thing,' wrote an incandescent Hayley Williams of Paramore, a rock band who supported Taylor Swift on her Eras tour and some of whose members grew up around Nashville's Christian music scene. 'How many stories like this from this VERY small corner of the music industry will we hear before we realise that capitalising on people's faith and vulnerability is the 'sin',' Williams also wrote. Speaking from Australia where she lives, Morris, the journalist behind the original Roys Report article, tells me that her investigation is drawing comparisons to a previous high profile entertainment industry scandal. 'Sources said to me that this is the 'Me Too' of Christian music,' says Morris, referring to the 2017 viral campaign against sexual abuse and harassment that took off following abuse allegations against the all-powerful Hollywood film mogul Harvey Weinstein, currently in prison. People were initially afraid of speaking out against Weinstein for fear of never working again. 'That was one of the reasons [my sources] were so scared to speak up – not because they wanted to do the right thing, but they knew that if this didn't pan out, they could lose their career.' Rather than comparing Tait to Weinstein, though, Morris compares him to 'Michael Jackson in terms of status, celebrity, power and influence.' Given the persistent abuse allegations against Jackson, it's not a comparison that fares much better. 'Monumental' is how Morris sums up her investigation's impact. 'I don't want to overstate that because I knew this was a big story. But even I was shocked,' she says. People at her 'tiny' local Christian radio station near Melbourne are even talking about it, such is Tait's stature. To understand the shockwaves this story is having, you need to understand how big Christian music is and where it came from. At the dawn of rock and roll in the 1950s, pop music was routinely dismissed as sinful by conservative religious groups, who saw themselves as defenders of the nation's morality. Even Elvis Presley, who had a spiritual upbringing, was branded 'morally insane' by a Des Moines reverend in 1956 for his on-stage hip-swivelling. But as the 1960s progressed, so-called 'Jesus Music' grew in popularity among hippies. Unlike older forms of religious music like gospel, which had its roots in actual church services, Jesus Music was a deliberate melding of Christian lyrics with the radio-friendly pop and folk music of the time. The blend proved useful: rather than building walls between the secular and the sacred, religious groups realised that co-opting trendy sounds was a useful way of spreading the word. In 1969, Texan musician Larry Norman released an album called Upon This Rock, which came to be known as the 'Sgt Pepper of Christianity'. In 1972 Norman released probably his most famous song Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music, an Elvis-like boogie in which he sang that 'Jesus is the rock and he rolled my blues away.' A new industry was born. In 1978 Jesus Music became codified as Contemporary Christian Music with the launch of CCM Magazine. The broad genre covered everything from Christian rock and R&B to, later, Christian hip hop and heavy metal. Evangelical record labels proliferated, some sprouting from so-called megachurches – vast churches with huge congregations and social or educational activities beyond plain worship. One such label was Bethel Music, which released music by congregation members or preachers from California's Bethel Church, a literal ministry of sound. Spurred by Christian radio stations (there are an estimated 2,400 in the US today), the genre mushroomed. In 2003, Billboard magazine launched the Hot Christian Songs chart, giving CCM its own weekly music chart. In recent years popular religion's growth has been supercharged by social media influencers and reality TV. Bishop Jakes, the founding paster of The Potter's House of Dallas megachurch, has 5.9 million Instagram followers. Over on TikTok the 'Tradwife' aesthetic, which celebrates traditional gender roles, has tens of thousands of videos by gingham-clad wives about how to live in traditional domesticity. A recent reality TV smash has been The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, about a group of Utah-based TikTok influencers navigating religious expectations with the constructed reality of their drama-filled lives. Here in the UK, Rev Chris Lee has been dubbed 'the viral vicar of Instagram' due to his 162,000 followers and 60-second sermons. At the same time, Christian themes are increasingly seeping into mainstream pop. Benson Boone's Beautiful Things – a hit around the world in 2024, 2.3 billion Spotify streams – contains the line 'I thank God every day/ For the girl he sent my way'. And Alex Warren's inescapable Ordinary, which was a UK number one for 13 weeks this year, references the Lord, angels, holy water and Heaven's gate. 'At your alter, I will pray/ You're the sculptor, I'm the clay,' Warren sings. Neither he nor Boone, raised Catholic and Mormon respectively, are CCM artists. But they could be. An integral part of this world was Tait. In 1987 when in his early 20s he co-founded the wildly popular Christian pop-rap trio DC Talk, who released five albums and looked like MTV stars. They disbanded in 2001 and Tait toured with his solo band, also called Tait. In 2009, and to significant fanfare, he was announced as the new lead singer of Newsboys, a pre-existing band who'd released albums such as Hell Is For Wimps and Boys Will Be Boyz. Tait's first full album with Newsboys, 2010's Born Again, reached number four in the mainstream US album chart, sharing the top 10 with the likes of Eminem, Justin Bieber and Sting. As Morris says, millions of Americans' 'entire faith experience has been built around this man's music'. So, yes, his scandal has dumbfounded the Christian music community. The fallout has been rapid and widespread. Tait actually quit Newsboys in January, the day after a TikToker outed him as being gay (although Tait didn't mention this post on announcing his departure). Following the June revelations, Newsboys were dropped by their label Capitol Christian Music Group, part of the world's biggest record label Universal Music Group. The vast Christian radio network K-Love said it was 'resting' playing songs by Newsboys and CD Talk. And the Svengali behind Newsboys, Wes Campbell, resigned from the board of the influential Gospel Music Association after he was accused of allegedly covering up the Tait allegations, something he vehemently denies (Campbell and his family have also been hit with a separate lawsuit by a Tennessee pastor). Some in the industry, like Paramore's Williams, have spoken out. Darren King, former drummer of Mutemath, a band with roots in alternative Christian music, said he believed that someone could only engage in Tait's 'level of predation' with a 'team of helpers' who spent their time cleaning his reputation and suppressing criticism. Still, many people don't want to talk about it. The Telegraph approached a dozen Christian artists, record labels, radio stations and magazines in the US and UK asking for comment on this story. None wanted to speak. You get the feeling that shock and incredulity remain the dominant emotions. The big unknown is whether this story will permeate beyond the CCM world. Christian music symbolises a wholesome and God-fearing side of America that, crucially, occupies a great chunk of the political spectrum too: the 'religious right'. Just look at that Trump photo, taken during an Evangelicals for Trump event in Miami in 2020. Christians made up 72 per cent of the US electorate and gave 56 per cent of their vote to Trump in 2024, according to research by Arizona Christian University. If Christianity is undermined by the CCM scandal, what impact might this have on politics? It's too early to tell. As far as Morris is aware, no police charges have been levelled against Tait (although I have seen a police report about the alleged Fargo incident in 2014). But she says there's more bad stuff to come from across the CCM sector. 'This is probably the biggest part of it […] Now I'm trying to work quickly to get to the next part because I've had so many new leads come forward honestly,' she says. What the Christian music industry needs to do, she says, is to put in place 'policy and procedure' to stop people of influence from abusing their power. 'I took on this story not with the hope of dismantling an industry – I don't want that – but with the hope of maybe bringing more accountability and light to it,' says Morris. It sounds like things are going to get darker before that light arrives.
The Guardian
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Newsboys dropped from label after investigations into claims of sexual assault by Michael Tait
Newsboys, the legendary Christian rock supergroup, have been dropped from their record label following investigations by the Guardian and other media outlets into their former singer Michael Tait, who has been accused of sexually assaulting three men in the early 2000s, two of whom said they believed they had been drugged by the rock star. The 40-year-old band has struggled to retain its once-massive fanbase in the wake of the allegations and a flurry of public questioning about what individuals in Tait's circle might have known about Tait's own recent admission that he has led a 'double life'. The news that Capitol Christian Music Group dropped the Newsboys was announced by the band's lead singer, Adam Agee, at a reportedly sold out show on Sunday night in Scottsdale, Arizona. 'As a result of all this and the things that have come out that [Tait's] done and he's confessed to, we've been dropped from our record label,' he said. 'We've had radio stations pull our music. We've been cancelled by promoters and venues all over the world.' Agee reportedly also said the band was aware that Tait was having 'personal struggles', but was shocked by investigations published by The Roys Report (TRR) and the Guardian. 'It was so shocking to us, because that's not the guy we knew,' he said. 'The guy that we knew, that we've been on the road with, he was our family. He was our brother, and a friend to our families, to our kids… 'It just has been devastating to us, and our families have felt like our names (have) been dragged through the mud because of all this, and it's really, really hurt our kids.' While most Christian artists have remained silent on the matter, Hayley Williams of the band Paramore condemned the Christian music industry that 'enabled' Tait. Newsboys being dropped from their label came only weeks after the band released their new album World Wide Revival (Deluxe). This came on the heels of K-LOVE Radio, the largest Christian radio station on the air, pulling the Newsboys catalogue from its circulation, and a Canadian promoter cancelling dates from Newsboys' current world tour. Members of Newsboys did not respond to a request for comment. Capitol Christian Music Group did not respond to a request for comment. Throughout the 90s, Tait's first band, DC Talk, redefined the contemporary christian music (CCM) genre, selling eight million albums and winning four Grammys. In 2009, Tait became the new frontman for CCM legacy band, Newsboys, whose hit song God's Not Dead became a Maga anthem and spawned a series of popular Christian films of same name, which featured cameos by Tait. The majority of Tait's music infused Christian right talking points with rock sounds, culminating in Tait's influential support for Donald Trump's presidential campaigns. Last January, Tait was accused by a former colleague on TikTok of being secretly gay. The following day, Tait stepped down as Newsboys singer, offering little explanation. Six months later, the Christian media site Julie Roys reported allegations that Tait had sexually assaulted two young men while secretly abusing cocaine and alcohol. This was followed by Tait confessing in a post published on Instagram that he'd been living 'a double life,' and had, at times, 'touched men in an unwanted, sensual way'. In the Instagram statement, Tait also wrote: 'I am ashamed of my life choices and actions and make no excuses for them. I will simply call it what God calls it – sin.' He added: 'While I might dispute certain details in the accusations against me, I do not dispute the substance of them'. 'Even before this recent news became public, I had started on a path to health, healing, and wholeness … I accept the consequences of my sin and am committed to continuing the hard work of repentance and healing – work [which] I will do quietly and privately, away from the stage and the spotlight.' The Guardian published its own months-long investigation into Tait on 13 June, revealing the stories of three young men alleging Tait sexually assaulted them, including two who said they believed he had drugged them beforehand (and one of whom was a minor at the time). Four others claimed Tait was sexually inappropriate with them, one of whom was 13 when Tait allegedly exposed and fondled his penis before him in a restaurant bathroom. Tait did not respond to the Guardian's request for comment at the time, and has not responded to a second request for comment in connection to the Newsboys being dropped by their record label. Hayley Williams of the band Paramore posted an Instagram story of the Guardian's headline, overlaid with text that read in part 'I hope the CCM industry crumbles. And fuck all of you who knew and didn't do a damn thing.' While Paramore is not a CCM band, Williams – who has 4m followers on Instagram – grew up around the Christian music industry, and the band's former guitarist, Justin York, performed with Tait on his solo projects. Both he and his brother Taylor York, the band's current guitarist, are the sons of the former chairman and CEO of Capitol Christian Music Group. 'The amount of things I have to say and the amount of people I know who were likely changed forever by this man and by the industry that empowered/enabled him…' Williams wrote in her IG story. Michael Sweet, singer of the 80s Christian metal band, Stryper, made a vague reference to Tait in a Facebook post, where he stopped short of naming the singer, but mentioned 'what's going on in the Christian music world lately', adding: 'It's important to understand (and I'm not condoning any bad behavior or wrong doings), that Christians are sinners. Once you accept Christ, you still have to deal with a lifetime of temptations, frustrations and weaknesses.' Just after the Julie Roys story broke (but before Tait's confession) his former bandmates in Newsboys released a statement, saying in part: 'Last night our hearts were shattered when we read the news alleging drug abuse and inappropriate sexual actions by our former lead singer, Michael Tait … We are horrified, heartbroken, and angry at this report and in many ways, we feel as if we and our families have been deceived for the last fifteen years.' Questions about what the band may have known about Tait's alleged behavior – including allegations of sexual assault – quickly circulated online. Some pointed to a Facebook comment by Agee, Newsboys guitarist who replaced Tait as singer, posted before Newsboys' official statement. He wrote: 'We have obviously heard the rumors over the years … We asked Tait each time something would come up and he would deny it emphatically.' The post has since been deleted. Darren King, the drummer for the Christian rock band Mutemath, released a video on Instagram on Tuesday and described what he alleged was an uncomfortable encounter with Tait, who he claimed touched him inappropriately during a dinner about 20 years ago. In the post, King said he had contributed to reporting in both the Guardian and the Roys Report. 'Someone could only engage in this level of predation over this length of time – potentially over two decades – with the help of a team of helpers,' said King, who has worked in the Christian music industry for 20 years. 'I believe Tait has a team of people who spend their time and money clearing his reputation and suppressing criticism, suppressing the truth.' Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at
The Guardian
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘He stole a piece of our souls': Christian music star Michael Tait accused of sexual assault by three men
The Christian music legend Michael Tait, whose hit song God's Not Dead became an anthem for Donald Trump's Maga movement, has been accused of sexually assaulting three men, two who believed they were drugged by the rock star in the early 2000s, according to a months-long Guardian investigation. Four other men have alleged that Tait, a founding member of DC Talk and later a frontman for the Newsboys, engaged in inappropriate behavior such as unwatched touching and sexual advances. The Guardian is publishing these allegations days after Tait posted an extraordinary confession on his Instagram account, admitting that for 20 years he had been 'leading a double life', abusing alcohol and cocaine, 'and, at times, touched men in an unwanted sensual way', according to his statement. The statement appears to be a response to a separate report published earlier this month by the Christian media outlet, The Roys Report, which also investigated Tait and revealed similar allegations of drug use and sexual assault against young, male musicians. In the Instagram statement, Tait wrote: 'I am ashamed of my life choices and actions and make no excuses for them. I will simply call it what God calls it – sin.' He added: 'While I might dispute certain details in the accusations against me, I do not dispute the substance of them.' 'Even before this recent news became public, I had started on a path to health, healing, and wholeness … I accept the consequences of my sin and am committed to continuing the hard work of repentance and healing – work [which] I will do quietly and privately, away from the stage and the spotlight.' The allegations about Tait's behavior revealed today starkly contrast the public image that Tait cultivated for nearly four decades. The 59-year-old native of Washington DC, sold 18m albums, containing songs that often encouraged young Christians to stay sober, abstinent and straight. But sources who spoke to the Guardian claimed Tait's alleged drug use and alleged abusive behavior were the 'biggest open secret in Christian music'. The Guardian has interviewed 25 people in the Christian music industry, most of whom say they had prior knowledge of allegations that Tait had engaged in abusive behavior. The men who have come forward and shared their alleged experiences – two agreeing to go on the record with their names, while the rest spoke on the condition of anonymity – were aged 13 to 29 at the time of their alleged experiences. All grew up in evangelical churches where Tait's music was the premier soundtrack of their youth groups, summer camps and mission trips. Having taken the message of Tait's songs to heart, they were naive about sex and drugs throughout their youth. All were starstruck when meeting their childhood hero, but quickly saw their image of him as a role model of Christian piety dissolve, as they were taken on a bumpy ride of rock and roll debauchery. Shawn Davis, who was a lifelong fan and troubled youth who had immersed himself in Christian music, claims Tait pushed him to consume alcohol and cocaine on multiple occasions. He also says he believes Tait once secretly drugged him and then molested him in 2003, while he was still a minor. 'This man destroyed my life,' Davis now claims. Gabriel (not his real name) also claims Tait pushed him to consume alcohol and cocaine before asking to join him in a hot-tub in 2003, where he claims Tait repeatedly groped his penis while attempting to kiss him. 'To this day I jump whenever someone touches me unexpectedly,' Gabriel says. 'When something like that happens to you, you feel like the worst person, you feel dirty, worthless. It's heartbreaking to think someone you look up to could do something like that.' Adam (not his real name) claims he believes he was drugged by the singer while he was visiting Tait's home in Nashville, and later woke up to find Tait allegedly molesting him. 'This person has stolen a little piece of our souls,' he says. Tait did not respond to the Guardian's questions about the allegations contained in this report. Over the last 38 years, Tait has emerged as one of the most iconic names in Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). The genre and industry often exists in its own commercial and cultural ecosystem – yet mimics popular trends of mainstream music – creating multi-platinum superstars that are marketed to teens (and their parents) as wholesome alternatives to the 'sinful lifestyles' of mainstream rock stars. Tait was one-third of the rap-rock group, DC Talk, which formed in 1987 while its members were attending the evangelical Liberty University, whose founder, Jerry Falwell, launched the Moral Majority, the political organization that first galvanized evangelical voters around the Republican party in 1980, forever changing the American political landscape. Falwell was a mentor to young Tait – who he referred to as 'my white daddy' – and helped boost DC Talk to stardom. Blending MTV aesthetics with Christian right talking points, DC Talk instructed generations of teens to stand against the liberalism of the Clinton era, namely abortion rights and sex education. Songs like I Don't Want It (a rebuttal to George Michael's I Want Your Sex), That Kind Of Girl, and The Children Can Live, shaped the moral landscape of a generation of young evangelicals, mandating sexual purity until marriage. 'They used the sounds often associated with teen sexuality – like hip-hop, rock and pop music – to combat teen sexuality and adolescent desire,' says Leah Payne, author of the book God Gave Rock and Roll To You, an academic critique of CCM history. 'In 1994 the True Love Waits organization asked DC Talk to perform at their concert on the National Mall promoting virginity among young evangelicals, which resulted in the signing of 200,000 chastity pledges by the teenage fans.' In 1995, their Nirvana-flavored smash hit, Jesus Freak, championed being a social outcast for the Lord's sake; a book companion to the album celebrated the violent histories of Christian martyrs around the world, encouraging young people to follow in their footsteps. The fight for Christian nationalism was also a premier theme of DC Talk's music – as well as the book Under God, co-authored by Tait – claiming the US is suffering a collapse of moral values because of the secularization of government and public schools. This was underscored with frightening urgency by their songs warning of the coming rapture. As recently as 2021, Tait warned: 'I believe we are living in the last days [before the rapture].' The CCM industry has been primarily headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, where Tait and most of his colleagues work and live. While it is not affiliated with the country music scene of Nashville, it typically shares the same conservative politics. While DC Talk addressed racism in several songs – with Tait as the sole Black man performing with two white guys (one of whom rapped) – their narrative typically placed racism as an unfortunate touchstone of the past that the US must repent for, but never as a contemporary, systemic problem. DC Talk went on a hiatus in 2000 and for nearly a decade Tait performed as a solo artist until he became the frontman of the legendary CCM supergroup, Newsboys. In 2011, their rock song, God's Not Dead, became a rallying cry for disaffected evangelicals in the Obama-era. In 2014, Tait and Newsboys appeared in God's Not Dead, a movie centered around the fictional story of an atheist college professor who threatens to fail his students if they refuse to sign a form declaring 'God Is Dead.' Tait would make an appearance in four subsequent sequels, becoming a recognizable face in the fight against perceived anti-Christian discrimination, a central theme of Donald Trump's presidential campaigns. Tait endorsed Ted Cruz in 2016, but shifted his allegiance to Trump after the Florida pastor Paula White – chair of the evangelical advisory board for Trump's 2016 campaign and leader of the White House Faith office in 2024 – invited him to pray over Trump before a Florida campaign stop. Tait soon became a key bridge between the candidate and white evangelical voters. Newsboys performed for Trump at the White House in 2019, and the following year Tait sang at evangelical 'Let Us Worship' events, which were centered around the false claim that President Joe Biden was using Covid lockdowns to repress church attendance in America. 'I love you, I support you, and I'm one of the growing number of African Americans who love you,' Tait said in a 2019 video praising Trump's efforts at prison reform, before adding 'I'm looking forward to hanging out, and eating some Big Macs!' On 5 January 2021, Newsboys' God's Not Dead was sung in unison by the 'Jericho March' at the US Capitol, the event that preceded the violent insurrection on the US Capitol the following day. The Guardian's investigation has revealed an alleged pattern of manipulative behavior by Tait. Most of the alleged incidents described in this article are alleged to have occurred between 2001 and 2009. Young and sometimes naive male musicians say they believe they were targeted by the star, with Tait allegedly dangling the possibility of career or artistic opportunities before them and then cutting off all contact once it became clear that sex was off the table. According to four people who were interviewed, some of them on the condition of anonymity, Tait would allegedly invite them to parties at his house in Nashville, encouraging them to drink alcohol and use drugs before making sexual advances. Two of the men who spoke to the Guardian claim they believe they were secretly drugged, which left them floating in and out of consciousness, unable to consent to sexual acts. They claim Tait assaulted them by touching them sexually without their permission. Three others claim they awkwardly rebuffed his advances and left. 'I wore out my Jesus Freak CD as a kid, and so when I met him I was starstruck,' recalls Gabriel, who was 19 when he was introduced to 38-year-old Tait in 2004. 'And then he started calling me to hang out, it was just crazy.' Gabriel was ambitious to become a CCM musician, and now his childhood hero was inviting him out to bars, buying him drinks even though he was underage and taking him to parties at his home in Nashville. Tait often mentioned the possibility of them jamming together, but that never materialized. Gabriel felt a little uncomfortable at first when Tait would rub a hand on his shoulder and constantly hug him, but attributed the feeling to the fact that he had been abused a few years earlier by a serial child molester. In fact, Gabriel was testifying in a court case about that incident during this same time, an emotionally taxing experience that he confided in Tait about. 'He was very sympathetic,' Gabriel says, 'and then he betrayed that trust'. Tait started inviting Gabriel over alone, when the house was empty. When Tait introduced him to cocaine, 'it was a huge shock,' Gabriel says, partially because he had no experience with drugs, and because it was being served by the man whose music informed his moral universe. 'But I was too excited to be there, and didn't want to screw up this opportunity.' The two used cocaine together a number of times over the next few weeks. One night, while they both were high on the drug, along with a couple of Vodka and Red Bulls, Tait proposed they jump in the hot tub. It was there that Tait unexpectedly 'grabbed my crotch and tried to kiss me at the same time,' Gabriel claims. 'It wasn't subtle, and it was out of nowhere. I asked him 'what the hell is going on?' He said he was just joking, but then he did it again. I jumped out of the pool and drove home, which I shouldn't have done because I was more intoxicated than I've ever been, but that's how scared I was.' Gabriel didn't tell anyone for 15 years, when he confided about it to the same friend who had introduced him to Tait, Shawn Davis. Shocked, Davis told him he had his own bad experience. Davis says he was 16 when he met 37-year-old Tait in 2003 at a Nashville party that was loaded with mainstream celebrities. But Davis's attention remained only on his childhood idol, Michael Tait. A mutual friend introduced them, and Tait took down his number, calling Davis to hang out a few days later. 'DC Talk were my heroes in a lot of ways,' Davis recalls. 'They were Christians, but they rocked out, and I thought that was so cool.' Looking back, both Davis and Gabriel realized that while they spent time together with Tait at bars and parties, at some point they were only invited to his house separately and alone, which began when he allegedly introduced them to cocaine. According to Davis's claims, months passed with Davis and Tait hitting the Nashville bars (Tait was able to get Davis, a teenager, drinks), before going back to Tait's house to smoke weed and cigarettes, snort coke along with the opioid Lortab, which Tait would crush into a powder. Like Gabriel, Davis confided to Tait that he had been molested when he was eight years old. 'Tait made me feel like, and seem like, he was my only friend.' Davis says that Tait always mixed their drinks, and claims he often felt pressured to drink heavily. One night he recalls the drink tasting strange, and Tait insisting he finish it. 'Suddenly, I felt super sick, dizzy, nauseous, going in and out of consciousness,' he says. 'I woke up in the closet, and he had my pants down, and was giving me a blowjob. I pushed him off as best as I was able in that state, but he pushed me down, and then I punched him twice and left.' Davis said he believed he was drugged by Tait. He was 17 at the time. In the months that followed, Davis claims, Tait aggressively pursued a reconciliation. 'He was relentlessly love bombing me, trying to talk his way back in the door,' alleges Davis. 'He apologized to me for what happened, but never got into specifics, it was more of a broad statement.' Davis was attempting to get a CCM label off the ground, and forgave Tait's behavior with the hope that he would help him get a foothold in the industry. He claims that 'Tait had convinced me that what happened that night was my fault, he was very manipulative. And I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.' All of this came to a head one night in 2012, when Davis was in Tait's kitchen, and Tait texted him from his bedroom, sending him a picture of what Tait described as $5,000 in cash. 'He said something to the effect of 'this could be yours if you let me suck you off and cum in your ass,' Davis claims. After that, Davis called his mother and asked her to quickly come pick him up; Davis snuck out quietly without alerting Tait. On the drive home, Davis says he told her everything he had allegedly experienced with Tait. He and Tait never spoke again. Davis's mother, and a friend he had confided in at the time, confirmed the details reported in this story. Davis has had one run-in with the law. When he was a teenager he stole his mother's debit card to rent a limo for prom. He got probation but was then found guilty of violating his probation in connection to drug use, which occurred at a time when he was friends with Tait. He served about five months in prison. He is now married, has a 12-year-old son and owns his own construction company in Nashville. Both Davis and Gabriel express regret today for not speaking up sooner, believing they could have prevented other people from suffering the same experience. At the time, they each thought their experiences were isolated incidents. Another young man who got to know Tait, Abraham (not his real name) claims Tait rubbed his thigh and caressed his ear minutes after meeting for lunch in 2006. Abraham was a 22-year-old musician in an up and coming band. 'He said 'at Liberty University, we weren't allowed to let our hair touch our ears,' and then he brushed my hair back with his hand, which was weird,' Abraham recalled. Zach (not his real name) was a 29-year-old aspiring DJ with little experience when, he claims, Tait invited him to his house after they met in a Nashville dance club in the summer of 2008. 'He was doing a solo tour and said: 'What we need is a DJ who can come on the road with us,'' Zach alleges. 'And I asked: 'That would be so cool! What would I need to do?' And he said: 'You need to hang out, come around [my house] a lot.'' But when Zach arrived at his house, and was brought to Tait's studio, he noticed the only furniture in the room was a bed, and Tait kept encouraging Zach to sit close to him. 'I was a virgin until I was 37,' Zach recalls. 'And I'd always thought to myself 'Michael Tait's been single his whole life, and if he can hold out so can I.'' Feeling uncomfortable, Zach made up an excuse to leave early. Afterward, he sent Tait several messages to follow up on the DJ opportunity, but Tait never replied. Adam (not his real name) was another young and ambitious musician in a Christian rock band that was slowly gaining steam in 2004 when he met Tait in Nashville. The 22-year-old was ecstatic when Tait texted him a few days later, inviting him out for some bar hopping. 'Tait was like the Christian Elvis, the GOAT,' Adam recalls. Adam was dropped off at the bar to meet Tait by some friends, one of whom said 'don't get molested!' as he was exiting the car, a comment he found strange but dismissed. A wild night out concluded at Tait's home, where Adam was awed by 'his trophy room, where he keeps all his Dove Awards, Grammys and other accolades'. At one point they needed to buy more booze, and Tait showed him his collection of cars in the garage, telling him to 'pick one'. Adam selected a white MG convertible. It was nearly dawn when they got back to Tait's house, which was empty but for the two of them. They drank more, and Adam recalls suddenly feeling profoundly sleepy. That's when, Adam says, Tait told him, ''It's ok, just go to sleep,' and then he laid my head on his lap.' Adam's next memory of that night is 'waking up in his bed, my pants unzipped, and [Tait] was jerking me off. I passed out again, then woke up, wondering 'what the fuck is happening?' I went to the bathroom and had a panic attack, asking myself, 'Am I supposed to go there and beat him up? Or am I supposed to play it cool?'' Like Davis and Gabriel, Adam had been abused as a child. 'It made me a lot more insecure, wondering 'Why me? Am I weak? Too innocent? Was this my fault?' I didn't ask for this, I was just hanging out with a superstar.' Adam says he believes Tait drugged him that night. He shared the story with his girlfriend at the time, and a couple of fellow musicians who were close with Tait, and recalls that 'some of them stopped hanging out with me after that, which hurt, and made me afraid.' A close friend of Adam at the time confirmed to the Guardian that Adam told him about what he says happened. Many sources we spoke with also feared reprisal, and would only speak on the condition of anonymity. Several people who were interviewed said they recall Tait stripping down to his underwear or naked at parties and backstage of a concert, often exposing himself to young musicians touring as his opening act. Jacob (not his real name) was a 21-year-old musician when he met 40-year-old Tait in the winter of 2004. The two were both performing at a church concert, and Tait invited Jacob to fly out to Nashville and stay a few nights at the home of his childhood hero. Once there, Jacob was surprised at the amount of cigarettes and alcohol Tait and his friends consumed, as he had never had a drink in his life. One night, the two of them alone in Tait's kitchen, Jacob claims, 'Tait somehow brought up that he had a huge urethra. And then he just whipped it out and showed it to me.' Jacob had been sleeping on the floor of Tait's house, as he didn't have a spare bed, and when Tait offered to share his king-sized bed with him, Jacob didn't think anything of it, as this wasn't uncommon among touring musicians. He wasn't sure what to think of the massages Tait kept giving him, in the hot tub earlier that night, and then in his bed. When Tait's hands 'moved lower and lower and lower, until he was massaging my butt-cheeks, I didn't know what to do, because I looked up to him, and didn't want to make him mad'. Jacob tried his best to delicately rebuff Tait's advances, saying, ''Hey man, I'm not into that.' Tait said OK and went to sleep.' (Jacob's girlfriend at the time, who is now his wife, corroborated the details of his story, which he shared with her at the time.) Israel Anthem was only 13 when Tait allegedly exposed his penis to him in 2001. Anthem descended from the Rambo family, who were legends in the field of gospel music. His grandmother, Dottie Rambo (whose songs had been recorded by Elvis, Johnny Cash, and many more), was being honored with a lifetime achievement award, and the members of DC Talk were in attendance. Anthem and his family took pictures with the band, and a few weeks later they were eating in a Nashville restaurant when 'Michael walked in, and came by our table to say hi.' Anthem was 'a huge, lifelong DC Talk fan', he recalls. 'Some kids sleep with Teddy Bears, I slept with DC Talk cassettes.' He says he was stoked when the two happened to be in the restaurant bathroom at the same time later that night, sharing side-by-side urinals. 'He was still at the urinal when I was washing my hands, and as we were talking [about a CD that had just come out] I noticed his penis was out, and he was facing me, turned away from the urinal. I thought he was putting his penis away, but then he was rubbing his penis, and making eye contact, while I was talking.' Anthem recalls this lasting anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds, with Tait 'visibly aroused' and 'fondling himself'. Back at the table, a family member recalls, Anthem looked 'white as a ghost, absolutely terrified.' Anthem later described the alleged bathroom incident to that family member, who corroborated his story to the Guardian. Tait's career was on a stable trajectory until January of this year. Last Christmas he made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry, and the previous Christmas he played Carnegie Hall with Amy Grant and others. That all came to a halt on 15 January, when host of the Yass, Jesus podcast, Azariah Southworth, claimed Tait was gay in a viral TikTok video that received over 250,000 views before it was removed for violation of TikTok guidelines. 'I felt he was fair game,' Southworth says. 'Some people disagreed with the ethics of [outing someone against their will], but this deserved to be said out loud. Keeping quiet would allow a false narrative to continue, fueling a movement that is hurting myself, as a gay man, and my trans brothers and sisters.' Southworth – who grew up in a strict evangelical household, and was traumatized by five years of 'conversion therapy' – was the host of a Christian reality TV show in 2004-05 that featured Tait. During that time, he claims to have seen Tait gambling, smoking and cursing, behavior that would've scandalized Christian audiences. Within days of Southworth publishing his video, Tait announced in a social media post that 'it is time [I] step down from Newsboys,' offering fans little explanation as to why. Shortly after this, the remaining members of Newsboys released a statement addressing the allegations, insisting that it was only last January when 'Michael confessed to us and our management that he 'had been living a double-life,'' the band wrote, adding: 'But we never imagined that it could be this bad … Our hearts are with the victims who have bravely shared their stories.' In the closing of Tait's 'confession' on Tuesday, he offers understanding to those who lost 'respect, faith and trust in me', later citing the story of King David's prayer for forgiveness after he had committed adultery and murder. Though he is quick to add that 'it crushes me to think that someone would lose or choose not to pursue faith because I have been such a horrible representative of him.' This was Gabriel's experience, saying he had 'blamed God' for the trauma he allegedly endured that night. 'Tait was presented as the pinnacle of godliness,' he says, trembling with tears in his eyes. 'I get that all people sin, but to use the facade of his righteousness to commit sin, that made me walk away from my faith for a while. He took something from me I'll never get back. In time, though, I found my own may back to God.'
New York Post
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Christian music star Michael Tait admits to ‘double life' amid sexual assault, drug abuse allegations: ‘Sadly, largely true'
Grammy award-winning Christian rock singer Michael Tait admitted the drug abuse and sexual assault accusations against him are 'mostly true,' in his first public comments since the bombshell claims surfaced. Tait, the former frontman for Newsboys and DC Talk, said he was living a double life as he allegedly abused hardcore substances with younger men before making unwanted advances toward them, according to Christian media outlet The Roys Report. The 59-year-old addressed the accusations in an Instagram post titled, 'My Confession — June 10, 2025.' Advertisement 'Recent reports of my reckless and destructive behavior, including drug and alcohol abuse and sexual activity are sadly, largely true,' Tait wrote. 'For some two decades I used and abused cocaine, consumed far too much alcohol and, at times, touched men in an unwanted sensual way.' 'I am ashamed of my life choices and actions, and make no excuses for them. I will simply call it what God calls it — sin. I don't blame anyone or anything but myself. While I might dispute certain details in the accusations against me, I do not dispute the substance of them,' he added. 5 Michael Tait sings for the Newsboys during the 49th Annual Dove Awards on Oct. 16, 2018 in Nashville, Tenn. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Advertisement The report, published June 4, featured sourcing from 50 people, including three men who claim they were targets of Tait's non-consensual sexual advances when they were in their early 20s. Tait allegedly befriended multiple people while on tour, including three men in 2004, 2010 and 2014, respectively. The men claim Tait offered them alcohol or cocaine and later touched them non-consensually, according to The Roys Report. 5 The 59-year-old addressed the accusations in a post to Instagram, titled 'My Confession – June 10, 2025.' @michaeltait/Instagram Advertisement Tait, who abruptly left Newsboys in January because he was 'living a double life,' said he split with the award-winning group 'to get help.' 'I was not healthy, physically or spiritually, and was tired of leading a double life,' he said. Tait revealed that he is sober after he spent six weeks at a Utah treatment center, which he insists saved his life from 'ultimate destruction.' 5 Michael Tait joins the Newsboys during a visit to the SiriusXM Studios in Manhattan on April 15, 2019. Getty Images Advertisement 5 Tait performs at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona on March 16, 2024. Getty Images The Washington, DC native said he lied throughout his career as he kept his drug abuse and sex life a secret from everyone he worked and lived with. 'I'm ashamed to admit that for years I have lied and deceived my family, friends, fans and even mislef my bandmates about aspects of my life,' Tait said. 'I was, for the most part, living two distinctly different lives. I was not the same person on stage Sunday night as I was at home on Monday.' The current members of Newsboys — Jody Davis, Duncan Phillips, Jeff Frankenstein and Adam Agee — were left 'shattered' over the allegations against Tait. 'Last night our hearts were shattered when we read the news alleging drug abuse and inappropriate sexual actions by our former lead singer, Michael Tait,' the band wrote on Instagram Tuesday. 'First and foremost, our hearts are with the victims who have bravely shared their stories. If you are a victim, we urge you to come forward. We absolutely do not condone any form of sexual assault.' The band was aware of Tait's 'double life' but said they never imagined how bad it could be. Tait is a four-time Grammy winner, taking the award for Best Rock Gospel Album in 1994, 1997, 1998 and 2002. Advertisement He was a nominee for the award at the 2005 show. Tait joined Newsboys in 2009 after having been a founding member of the Christian rap trio DC Talk from 1988 to 2001. After the allegations were made public, Newsboys and DC Talk songs were pulled from the US's largest Christian radio network, K-Love, according to the Christian Post. 5 Duncan Phillips, Jody Davis, Peter Furler, Michael Tait and Jeff Frankenstein of Newsboys attend the red carpet for the 'God's Not Dead: In God We Trust' premiere in Southlake, Texas on Sept. 4, 2024. Getty Images Advertisement 'We are aware of the allegations against Michael Tait, former frontman of the Newsboys,' a K-LOVE spokeswoman told the outlet. 'As the investigation proceeds, our prayers are with all those involved. In the meantime, our Programming Team is resting Newsboys and DC Talk music on our stream.' Tait admitted to being on a path of repentance and started a journey of healing with clinical health professionals, counselors and family. 'I have hurt so many people in so many ways, and I will live with that shameful reality the rest of my life. I can only dream and pray for human forgiveness, because I certainly don't deserve it,' he said. 'I have even accepted the thought that God may be the only One who ultimately and completely forgives me.'
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Christian rock band respond to former member's drug abuse, sexual assault allegations
Nashville-based Christian rockers Newsboys are responding to troubling news regarding their 59-year-old former lead singer, Michael Tait. In a post on the group's official Instagram account, the Australian-founded band responded to allegations of drug abuse and inappropriate sexual conduct against Tait while also distancing him from the band. "Last night, our hearts were shattered when we read the news alleging drug abuse and inappropriate sexual actions by our former lead singer, Michael Tait. While Michael has not addressed these allegations, we are devastated even by the implications," the statement read. "First and foremost, our hearts are with the victims who have bravely shared their stories. If you are a victim, we urge you to come forward. We absolutely do not condone any form of sexual assault." The quartet noted that as husbands who are fathers of 14 children in total, they were "horrified, heartbroken, and angry at this report and in many ways, we feel as if we and our families have been deceived for the last fifteen years." In January 2025, Tait, who was the lead vocalist of the group for 15 years in their four decades of existence, offered the following in a statement: "Fifteen years ago, my life was forever changed when I received the invite to step into the role of lead singer for Newsboys. The years since have been some of the most fulfilling, faith-filled, and rewarding years of my life." "I have been on an amazing journey all over the globe, performing and ministering to people of all ages, races, and backgrounds." "The decision does not come lightly and has been a shock to even myself, but admist prayer and fasting, I have clarity that this is the right decision," the statement continued. In their June 5 statement, Tait's former bandmates, Duncan Phillips, Jeff Frankenstein, Jody Davis and Adam Agee, noted that when he left the band, he "confessed" to them and their management that he "had been living a double-life." Through a nearly three-year-long investigation by The Roys Report, it was discovered that for two decades, Tait befriended three young men on Christian music tours in 2004, 2010, and 2014. The trio were all 22 at the time of their first interaction. Allegations of Tait, then two decades older than his accusers, engaging in acts of sexual assault and grooming highlight the lengthy of June 5, Tait has not officially responded to the allegations on his social media accounts or the statement from his former bandmates. As well, there have been no further comments from the group. Upon their 2021 release of "Stand," their 20th studio album, the band spoke with The Nashville Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. It's noted that when Grammy-winner Tait, formerly of DC Talk, replaced Peter Furler as the group's new lead vocalist in 2009, the band no longer had any original members in its ranks. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Newsboys address sex assault allegations against member Michael Tait
