On Tuesday, June 10, former Newsboys frontman and DC Talk member Michael Tait spoke publicly for the first time since being accused of grooming and sexually assaulting three men in their early 20s between 2004-2014.
In a statement posted on social media, Tait admitted to drug and alcohol abuse and “sexual activity.”
“Recent reports of my reckless and destructive behavior, including drug and alcohol abuse and sexual activity are sadly, largely true,” Tait said. “For some two decades I used and abused cocaine, consumed far too much alcohol, and, at times, touched men in an unwanted sensual way.”
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Tait said that he is “ashamed of [his] life choices and actions” and that he makes “no excuses for them.” Tait said, “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,” Tait continued. “When I abruptly left Newsboys in January I did so to get help. I was not healthy, physically or spiritually, and was tired of leading a double life.”
Tait said that he spent six weeks in a treatment center in Utah, and this “may have saved my life from ultimate destruction.” The “Jesus Freak” singer shared that he has “been clean and sober since” getting out of rehab but said, “I still have lots of hard work ahead of me.”
“I’m ashamed to admit that for years I have lied and deceived my family, friends, fans, and even misled my bandmates about aspects of my life,” Tait added. “I was, for the most part, living two distinctly different lives. I was not the same person on stage Sunday night that I was at home on Monday.
“I was violating everything | was raised to believe by my God-fearing Dad and Mom, about walking with Jesus and was grieving the very God I loved and sang about for most of my life,” said Tait.
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Tait said that by God’s “grace” he can say that for the last six months he has “lived a singular life—one of utter brokenness and total dependance on a loving and merciful God.”
“I have hurt so many people in so many ways, and I will live with that shameful reality the rest of my life,” Tait admitted. “I can only dream and pray for human forgiveness, because I certainly don’t deserve it. I have even accepted the thought that God may be the only One who ultimately and completely forgives me.”
