Famed musician and Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams is calling out the “CCM” (contemporary Christian music) industry after a prominent figure in the scene, Michael Tait, was revealed to be a sex pest. Tait, a dc Talk co-founder and former Newsboys member/lead singer, has his horrific actions briefly detailed under the cut.
Hayley Williams had this to say on Instagram:
“no one but the tiktoker who broke this story has said a word about michael tait needing gay affirming support … this is a man [whose] entire faith identity is built upon a faulty structure of self-hatred, to please a system that would rather cover up abhorrent behavior for 20+ years (and make money off of it) rather than accept that being gay is not the problem,” she continued. “how many stories like this from this VERY small corner of the music industry will we hear before we realize that capitalizing on people’s faith and vulnerability is the ‘sin.’ i hope the ccm industry crumbles.”
TW: Sexual AssaultAccording to the report, Tait is accused of sexually assaulting at least three men between 2004 and 2014.
“Two men said they were drinking alcohol with Tait and later woke up to him touching their genitals. One of the men said that while on the Newsboys tour bus, Tait offered him cocaine, according to the report.
The third man said that Tait gave him a massage while the two were skinny dipping and later invited him to sleep in his bed. While in the bed, Tait allegedly massaged his anal region without consent.”
ONTD, if you need help, please reach out. RAINN is a great resource, and if you’d prefer to talk out loud instead of messaging someone, you can reach out to 800-656-HOPE. For Candian ONTDers, you can check out these resources for help. For U.K. ONTDers, you can reach out to Rape Crisis by either going online or calling 0808-500-2222.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
