New Serious Allegation Involving Michael Tait and Newsboys Team Emerges from Years Past
A woman who worked with the Christian band Newsboys alleged that former lead singer Michael Tait drugged her and that she was raped by a lighting technician. The woman, who only chose to be identified as Nicole (not her real name), told The Roys Report that Tait drugged her after a late-night gathering during their 2014 pre-Christmas tour through 12 Midwestern cities when she was working for Pulse Evangelism. She also claimed that she blacked out that Newsboys lighting technician Matthew Brewer assaulted her in a third-floor hotel room in Fargo, North Dakota. Other individuals involved in the allegation include Tait, Brewer, guitar tech Jack Campbell, tour manager Steve Campbell, and lighting apprentice Zech Germenis.
Involvement of Newsboys Crew and Lack of Charges
Despite reporting the incident to the police, she was informed that there was no evidence, and the investigation was shelved.
According to video footage obtained by TRR, Nicole is seen stumbling and falling several times after she gets off an elevator with Brewer. The woman claimed that Tait had placed a drug in her Tequila drink prior to this video after they met at a hotel bar.
A second video shows the two entering Brewer's hotel room together, in which Tait appears at the door shortly after. Brewer, who opens the door, is shown speaking in whispers with Tait, who is seen stroking Brewer's chest and grabbing Brewer's crotch before entering the room together.
Friends Grew Concerned When Nicole Disappeared
"The next thing that I remember is being on a bathroom floor and feeling like a 1,000 pounds were on me. My body was so heavy I could hardly move. I hear Matt Brewer's voice, and I remember (Tait) being in there," Nicole said regarding her stay at Brewer's hotel room.
"I remember the feeling of my head being pushed down between someone's legs. I ...guess oral sex or an attempt, but I don't fully remember."
Tait left the room several minutes and returned with Jack Campbell, who entered the room but immediately left after just six seconds. The footage later shows Nicole's friends, musicians Jesi Jones and Elizabeth Chan, walking down the hall looking for her along with Germenis as they grew concerned she hadn't returned to her hotel room.
"We were concerned because she didn't come back to (her) room that night, so we went looking for her," Jones told TRR. "It is my belief that (drinking and hooking up) was completely out of character for her and was definitely not her intent."
Germenis speaks with Brewer, who is shirtless and only wears jeans, at the door at 2:16a.m before quickly shutting the door.
(I saw) his half-drunk face open the door and (he) was like, 'What's up?' I was like, 'Hey, have you seen (Nicole)?' And he said something like, 'No, I haven't seen her.'" he told TRR.
Germenis tells the two women that Brewer told him that Nicole was downstairs with John Burch, the Newsboys' merch guy who was one of the people who took a Tequila shot with Nicole. When speaking with Campbell, however, he told Germenis what he saw in Brewer's hotel room.
"He was like, 'I saw Tait basically watching them have sex,' or something like that," Germenis recalls.
"So, I (said), 'Are you scared? Tait's in there right now,' and he's like, 'Yeah . . . it was the worst thing ever.' And we basically just sat there. We were just kind of like in disbelief. Like, what in the heck is happening right now? How are we in the middle of this?"
Moreover a third video shows Nicole walking back to her hotel room after leaving Brewer's room at 2:21 a.m. and appears to collapse at her hotel room door. Two minutes later, Nicole's friends arrive back on the floor and find Nicole on the floor by her door with her pants unzipped.
Speaking with TRR, Nicole says she does not remember the moment when she entered Brewer's room but that she would have not wanted to go into the room. According to Nicole, she suggested that a date rape drug, like Rohypnol, GHB, or Ketamine, mixed with alcohol, lowered her inhibitions. Nicole also reported the incident to the police, which was obtained by TRR.
Brewer, however, has denied the sexual assault allegation and contended that his interaction with Nicole was consensual.
Tait’s Recent Confession Adds Weight to Allegations
Earlier this month, Tait confessed that he abused alcohol, drugs, and sexually abused young men over the past 2 decades and had abruptly stepped down from Newsboys in January to seek treatment. His confession follows a TRR article in which 3 men stepped forward and made such allegations against Tait when they were 22 years old at the time the alleged abuse took place.
In a recent investigation by The Guardian, three men claimed that Tait assaulted them in the early 2000s, while four others reported being subjected to inappropriate touching and advances.
Related Article: Michael Tait Faces New Serious Allegations as Investigation Continues
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/John Medina/Contributor
Originally published June 20, 2025.
