Michael Tait has been accused of longtime predatory sexual behavior.
Michael Tait, the “Christian Elvis,” was for decades an inspiring voice in the contemporary Christian music industry who encouraged young Evangelicals to turn away from sexual sin and toward redemption. A Liberty University graduate, Tait was a founding member of the Grammy-award-winning band DC Talk, which produced the popular hits “Jesus Freak” and “What If I Stumble?” After a solo stint, he joined the Christian rock band Newsboys, succeeding lead singer Peter Furler, in 2009.
Tait was the lead singer of the band until January 16 of this year, when he announced what to fans seemed like an abrupt departure. It wasn’t so suspicious in retrospect. One day prior, on January 15, a controversial TikTok star Azariah Southworth made what were at the time unsubstantiated claims about Tait’s sexuality. Southworth outed Tait as gay because, he said, Tait is an “adamant Trump supporter” who used a “large evangelical fan base to legitimize Donald Trump.”
Then, on January 20, after Southworth’s initial video was posted and Tait had formally left the Newsboys, Southworth made another claim: that Tait is not only gay but also a “monster” with a long history of sexual assault allegations against him.
In early June, The Roys Report published the findings of its two-and-a-half-year investigation into Tait. According to records and interviews from more than 50 sources, Tait allegedly engaged in a pattern of predatory sexual behavior and abused drugs and alcohol throughout his career.
“Recent reports of my reckless and destructive behavior, including drug and alcohol abuse and sexual activity are sadly, largely true. For some two decades I used and abused cocaine, consumed far too much alcohol, and, at times, touched men in an unwanted sensual way,” Tait admitted in a statement he titled “My Confession.” “I am ashamed of my life choices and actions, and make no excuse for them. I will simply call it what God calls it — sin.”
In the process of extending grace, some Christians seem willing to excuse Tait’s behavior altogether. But Tait’s “confession” does not excuse his heinous actions — especially, as one of his victims put it, the way in which Tait used “the facade of righteousness to commit sin.”
Tait’s situation doesn’t need to be hyper-spiritualized. Likely enthralled by celebrity culture, it appears that he abused his status and sexually assaulted several people in the process — which he only admitted to after he was caught. His confession doesn’t read as a master class in repentance as much as an effort to repair his image. Read it for yourself.
“I accept the consequences of my sin and am committed to continuing the hard work of repentance and healing — work I will do quietly and privately, away from the stage and the spotlight,” Tait said.
Absent from Tait’s statement was sufficient mention of his victims. Six accusers came forward after the initial exposé about Tait’s double life. Some of them were minors at the time of the alleged abuse. A woman who worked with the Newsboys in 2014 also accused Tait of drugging her after a band gathering — after which she blacked out and was assaulted, she said. Tait was in the room where she says she was assaulted, a fact corroborated by video evidence.
Tait’s involvement in the incident was not fully determined, according to a police report, but Tait was “pretty dismissive about the whole thing” and “said that he [had] asked God for forgiveness and was putting it behind him.”
One of his alleged victims, Shawn Davis, was 17 when, he claims, he was assaulted by Tait. The singer introduced the boy to cocaine and gave him a date-rape drug. After he lost consciousness, Tait performed sex acts on him, Davis told The Guardian.
“This man destroyed my life,” Davis said.
It’s true that God’s mercy is great. It’s also true that Tait should face consequences if these allegations against him are proven. Industry officials who knew about his substance abuse and covered up the allegations against him also deserve public scorn.
Tait admits to having sexually abused other men. He has been accused of pedophilic behavior, various degrees of assault, and coercion. Christians should have no problem condemning such repulsive behavior, hoping that each of Tait’s victims receives justice, and praying for Tait’s redemption.