Two More Men Accuse Michael Tait of Sexual Assault During ‘DC Talk’ Days, Including ‘Evanescence’ Manager
Two more individuals have accused former Newsboys frontman Michael Tait of drugging and sexually assaulting them during his time with DC Talk, according to a new report in The Guardian. This brings the number of men who have accused him of sexual abuse to eight.
Jason Jones was a young Christian man who recently moved to Nashville. At the time, Tait was already famous through DC Talk, and the two connected through a mutual friend, Randall Crawford.
“Jones was thrilled to be welcomed into Tait’s inner circle, yet he was taken aback by what he described as Tait’s proclivity for randomly grabbing other men’s genitals. He said he eventually learned that Tait was living a double life as a closeted gay man….While surprised, Jones held no negative feelings toward Tait’s sexuality, even taking him to gay clubs in Little Rock (at Tait’s request) when DC Talk performed there.”
In 1995, Jones met Ben Moody, and the two began collaborating on a project that would come to be known as Evanescence. As the founding manager, Jones used his contacts with Tait to help the band get a foot in the door with record labels and producers yet all that was for naught following a incident in 1998. Jones was at Tait’s house, hanging out and drinking following rehearsals for their Supernatural album, when suddenly he felt extremely tired, to which Tait suggested he go to sleep in his bedroom.
“Some time later, Jones recalls waking up, his pants missing, and Tait was giving him oral sex. ‘I said no and pushed him off, but then, somehow, I passed out again. I woke back up and he was still doing it. I said no again, then nodded out. And then I woke up a third time, aggressively shouted “no!” and pushed him harder. It was then that he left me alone.’”Looking back, Jones said, “I believe that Michael Tait drugged me.”
Jones confided what happened with a friend and mentor and later confided in Evanescence co-founder Ben Moody, who was only 18 at the time. Moody says that he doesn’t remember Jones framing it as having been sexually assaulted. “He described it as like frat-boy joking around while they were drunk, with [Tait] saying ‘what’s the big deal? A dick’s just a muscle.’ And Jason said, ‘the next thing I know he’s sucking my dick.’”
Following the incident, Jones says his world collapsed. His friends recount that he began spiraling and became depressed, with a noticeable change in his demeanor that began alternating between dissociation and rage. Eventually, Jones turned to drugs, and he was let go from the managing role of Evanescence a few years before they hit it big. He later got his life together and now tours the country talking about sexual assault and abuse, but had never used Tait’s name.
As for Crawford, he was friends with both but especially the band, having met them in 1989 while they were filming their music video Heavenbound. Eventually, he started writing music for TobyMac and Tait’s solo album, with the former being nominated for a Grammy.
Crawford recounts that after being distraught over a breakup, Tait invited him back to his house for a few drinks. He had one shot of whiskey and, despite insisting he had a high tolerance for alcohol, says he blacked out shortly after taking the shot.
“Crawford said his memory picks up some time later, finding himself propped up on Tait’s kitchen counter, his pants around his ankles. ‘My legs were up in the air, and Tait was licking my anus,’ he claimed. ‘I said “what are you doing, dude?” and then he said the weirdest thing: “Hey man, did you catch the Colts game last week?” Like we were just hanging out, chatting.’”
Crawford said that he fled Tait’s house but has no memory of driving home. He said he is convinced that Tait drugged him.”
Crawford told two friends, who corroborated the story. Like Jones, he says the incident left him shattered. “The joy and drive I had for music went away. Suddenly I had stage fright for the first time, brain fog, anger issues, depression, and was even suicidal for a time. It ruined my career.”
About Author
I followed Christian music pretty close in the 90’s. I had a little web-zine that somehow managed to get press credentials to cornerstone and we scored some pretty cool interviews. There were always whispers about DC Talk. Tait being gay and another member being on drugs were persistent rumors. I could never tell if it was true, or if it was jealousy…after all, in the 90’s DC Talk was hitting it bigger than any CCM act could imagine.
In 2025, CCM artists are a lot more comfortable with saying who among them is gay and you hear a lot about Tait being CCM’s “worst kept secret.”
I once heard a round-table discussion that always stuck with me. The artists involved represented Rez Band, the Choir, the 77’s, Sixpence None the Richer, and a few others. It became clear that while some saw their band as a ministry (Rez), others did not. They were Christians (think big tent on that one), but for the most part, they started their bands when they were young and emphasized that artists should not be viewed as ministers just because they are CCM. What struck me is that so many churches at the time would book bands with no clue who they were or how they viewed what they were doing. Don’t get me wrong, if you want to earn your living in music, that’s great! I don’t care if it is CCM or not anymore than I care if a janitor works at a church or a school. The crux of it all comes down to the pastor (or youth pastor) pushing artists he knows little about beyond a press briefing. It is akin to pulling someone in off the street and having them preach. You wouldn’t do that, so stop pointing to rock stars as spokesmen for your faith if you don’t know them. So much of that has been sown, and now the reaping.
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I’ve long felt what I believe to be a spiritual aversion to the commercialization of Christianity. Because I was a working musician (retired now), I felt this especially with regard to music. I remember the first time I was “paid” to play at church; I became physically ill, so much so that I donated 100% of the money back in the offering plate the next week. That was the LAST time I ever accepted money to worship Jesus. Okay, I recall I also once accepted a dry cleaning of a coat I accidentally left at a church after a performance, and someone thought it would be nice to do that before returning it. Anyway, the revelation of Michael Tait’s sick, depraved, demon-oppressed life represents to me EXACTLY what I believe the Holy Spirit protected me from for 30+ years: monetizing religion! Jesus emphatically warned us of this evil with His righteous anger at the temple vendors. The account is in every Gospel, which I don’t think is a coincidence. Yet, the megachurches and Kenny Copelands and PTLs and CBNS and DC Talks and Hillsongs, etc., keep raking in the dough from Christians who apparently did NOT get Jesus’ memo on the topic. I confess I have more than once questioned whether God took Keith Green from us to protect his amazing soul from going down this dark, dead-end, damning road. Who knows! But today, I am sad for the two men in this article and the likely several others whose lives Michael Tait–if the allegations are true–may have ruined, all due to his lust of wealth and fame and luxury and excess, insidiously concealed by a feigned love of Christ. Very sad indeed.
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Here is how to look at it.
If I were a musician and understood how to write music that would positively uplift the mind, heart, and soul of others – that would be the only music I would write. Its not a matter of what I fee or think about it. Either I am an instrument to lift up others or not.
Considering the times we now live and the damage that negative music as done over the years, I’d do my utmost to serve God to His Highest. Each will have to decide for themselves, to take the road most traveled, or take the higher road which is less traveled.
Best to you and your loved ones. Daniel
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