Michael Tait, former frontman for the Christian rock band Newsboys and a founding member of DC Talk, is confronting a tide of new allegations of sexual assault, including drugging and raping an underage male, according to a new investigation.
The revelations, published in a June 13 report from The Guardian, come in the wake of Tait’s Instagram confession last week acknowledging decades-long drug abuse and engaging in unwanted sensual contact involving men.
The Guardian report is based on months of investigation and included interviews with at least 25 people connected to contemporary Christian music, many of whom described Tait’s conduct as the “biggest open secret in Christian music.”
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.
Three men allege Tait sexually assaulted them as far back as the early 2000s, with two describing what they believe was drugging. Four others report being subjected to inappropriate touching and advances allegedly initiated by Tait.
The allegations involve men aged between 13 and 29 at the time, many of them fans who claimed they were lured into situations involving drugs, alcohol and sexual advances.
Shawn Davis, who spoke to The Guardian using his real name, said he was 16 when he met Tait in 2003. He alleged that he saw Tait as a hero at the time and the two would go to bars and parties, where Tait would get him drinks. He claimed he was introduced to cocaine at Tait’s home.
Davis alleges that one night at Tait’s home when he was 17, the musician served him a drink that tasted strange. After losing consciousness, Davis told The Guardian that he woke up on a closet with Tait performing sexual acts on him.
“This man destroyed my life,” Davis alleged.
One man known as “Gabriel,” whose real name was not revealed, told The Guardian he was 19 when he met Tait and believed Tait had drugged him before the former Newsboys frontman assaulted him in 2003.
Gabriel said he “blamed God” for the trauma he allegedly endured that night.
“Tait was presented as the pinnacle of godliness,” he said. “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 way back to God.”
Israel Anthem, a Nashville-based videographer who spoke to The Guardian, said Tait masturbated in front of him in a public restroom when he was 13.
“Knowledge about Tait’s predator behavior is so intrinsic to Christian music, his nails are burrowed into the fabric of it, that any validation of his behavior invalidates the whole industry,” he also told The Roys Report.
“There are three types of people in Nashville: Those who know the stories about Tait, are survivors and are terrified; Those who validate the stories about Tait, believe them to be true and wait for the day justice happens; And those who will cash a check with Tait despite knowing the truth.”
The Guardian’s article comes on the heels of The Roys Report’s years-long investigation into Tait, published June 4, which included interviews with over 50 sources and detailed accusations from at least three men who say Tait engaged in predatory behavior while they were in their early 20s.
In his Instagram post titled “My Confession — June 10, 2025,” following the release of that report, Tait wrote, “Recent reports of my reckless and destructive behavior, including drug and alcohol abuse and sexual activity are sadly, largely true.”
He admitted abusing cocaine and alcohol for 20 years and that he “at times, touched men in an unwanted sensual way.” He emphasized he does not dispute the substance of the allegations, although he disputes some details
Tait stated that he left Newsboys in January to seek treatment and has been sober since completing six weeks of rehab in Utah. He expressed deep remorse: “I want to say I’m sorry to everyone I have hurt. I am truly sorry.”
Tait, 59, was a prominent figure in Christian music, rising to fame with DC Talk in the 1990s and joined Newsboys in 2009. His departure from Newsboys was announced days after a viral TikTok alleged he is gay.
Following Tait’s confession and the Guardian’s follow-up, Newsboys’ remaining members expressed shock, saying they felt deceived, while Christian radio network K-LOVE and multiple local stations have suspended Tait’s music from airplay.
“When he left the band in January, Michael confessed to us and our management that he ‘had been living a double-life,'” the band wrote. “But we never imagined that it could be this bad.”
In an Instagram post following the revelations of Tait’s misdeeds, musician Hayley Williams of Paramore called out the Christian music industry for covering up Tait’s alleged behavior.
“I grew up around this,” she wrote. “I am not afraid of any of these people — most of them have written me off anyway by now. How many stories like this from this VERY small corner of the music industry will we hear before we realize that capatalizing [sic] on people’s faith and vulnerability is the ‘sin’?”
“I hope the CCM industry crumbles,” Williams concluded, criticizing those “who didn’t say anything” and “cover[ed] up abhorrent behavior for 20+ years.”
