Studio and touring musician Jeremey McCoy is the latest to claim that people were aware of Michael Tait’s “cocaine benders” but purposely ignored them, according to a new report from music journalist Jessica Morris.
McCoy has played bass guitar for artists such as The Fray, Jeff Deyo (Sonicflood), One Republic, and Rebecca St. James.
Tait, who is one of the founders of the iconic Christian band DC Talk and who later became the frontman for Newsboys in 2009, abruptly announced that he was leaving the Newsboys on Jan. 16.
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“This decision does not come lightly and has been a shock to even myself, but amidst prayer and fasting, I have clarity that this is the right decision,” Tait said at the time.
In June, the first of many reports revealed that Tait had been accused of grooming, sexually assaulting, and drugging young men—including minors—as well as of watching a young woman be raped in 2014.
On June 10, Tait released a statement, admitting, “For some two decades I used and abused cocaine, consumed far too much alcohol, and, at times, touched men in an unwanted sensual way.”
Newboys, the band’s management, and even the band’s owner, Wes Campbell, all deny having any knowledge of Tait’s double life. Fellow bandmate Adam Agee acknowledged that the band had heard rumors of Tait’s misconduct but said that Tait would “emphatically” deny allegations when confronted.
“We have obviously heard rumors over the years and each time something came up we tried to find the source and no one would tell us,” Agee continued.
Members of Newsboys claim that they first heard of Tait’s drug use in January during a meeting Tait called to confess that he “had been living a double life.” But, Newsboys said, “We never imagined that it could be this bad.”
