Leaked audio from a phone call between Michael Tait and one of his alleged sexual abuse victims reveals the former DC Talk and Newsboys singer admitting to “inappropriately” touching a session and touring musician.
Editor’s note: This article refers to reports of alleged sexual assault that some readers might find triggering and/or disturbing.
On Jan. 16, Tait abruptly announced that he was leaving Newsboys. He had been the band’s lead singer since 2009. Since leaving Newsboys, Tait has been accused of grooming, sexually assaulting, and drugging young men—including minors—as well as of watching a young woman be raped in 2014.
According to The Roys Report (TRR), Tait’s alleged victim met the Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) icon when he was 19 and claims he was “groomed, manipulated, and sexually assaulted by Tait from 2002 to 2010.” Tait is 15 years older than his alleged victim.
“He collects people, and I was a trophy that he collected. What makes you not shiny as a trophy anymore is when you are in a relationship, or especially when you get married. When you get married, he (stonewalls) people,” Tait’s alleged victim told TRR.
While recalling the first time Tait sexually assaulted him, the former Tait touring musician remembers falling asleep in Tait’s bed after a night of partying and waking up to his pants down and the CCM icon fondling his genitals.
Tait’s alleged victim said, “The handful of little rumors, question marks I’ve heard, all of a sudden, comes rushing into my mind. I (think), ‘Oh my God, Michael Tait’s gay, and I don’t know! What? What? Wait a second, what’s going on?’”
After regaining his composure, Tait’s alleged victim jumped out of bed and drove home, causing Tait to immediately say, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
The following morning, Tait left a voicemail on his alleged victim’s phone, apologizing and telling the person he had just allegedly fondled that it would never happen again.
