Is Michael Tait married? What we know amid former Evanescence manager’s allegations against Christian rock star

Christian singer Michael Tait is being accused of s*xual assault by Jason Jones, the former manager of Evanescence.

The Guardian has reported that Jones claims to have been fired from the band in 1999 for speaking up about the alleged assault, thereby axing him from the band's success, which kickstarted in 2003.

“It destroyed me,” said Jones, per the outlet. “I was achieving my dreams at an early age, and Tait changed all that.”

As of this writing, there is no evidence to suggest that Michael Tait is married. He has never been open about a relationship during his time in the limelight, and back in March 2016, he opened up about being single:

"Being single is not a choice for me... This is deep. I actually haven't said this much on film, guys, so appreciate this. My one regret in life when I look back - I probably would have gotten married earlier. Gotten married period. And had some kids... I think I would have made a pretty good dad," he told WayFM at the time.

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Jason Jones' s*xual assault claims against Michael Tait explored:

Per the latest article from the outlet, Jason Jones met Michael Tait back in 1994, and though he was initially thrilled to meet the frontman of the famous DC Talk band, he soon allegedly came to learn that Tait had an affinity for grabbing other men's genitals unwantedly and randomly.

He told the outlet that he eventually realized that the singer was in the closet, though he did not harbor any negative feelings for him at the time. The two crossed paths every now and then, and by the following year, after he co-produced the first demo for Evanescence, he began chatting up his band to Tait.

At the time, Jones was uncomfortable with Tait's profane lifestyle but needed his help, so he rolled with it.

“I had this band that I was trying to take places,” Jones recalled. “And [Tait] had the power to open doors for us in the industry. So I went along with whatever, but didn’t know what it would cost me.”

One night in 1998, Jones was at Michael Tait's house when he decided to leave. However, as drunk and tired as he was, the latter suggested that he sleep in his bedroom. He did so, feeling honored that he was given that privilege, only to wake up with his pants missing and Tait allegedly touching him inappropriately:

“I felt honored that he felt that close to me, that he trusted me enough to let me sleep in his bed,” Jones recalled, before recalling how he woke up: “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.” In retrospect, Jones said, “I believe that Michael Tait drugged me.”

Jones would later confide in Moody:

“Ben was only 18 at the time, new to the music industry, and I wanted to warn him,” Jones recalled. “[Tait] was flying Ben out to Nashville to write songs together, to see if he fit in Tait’s inner-circle.”

The Guardian reported just last month that several men have come forward to accuse the God's Not Dead singer of assaulting them, with two even claiming he drugged them in the early 2000s. The DC Talk co-founder and former Newsboys frontman was also accused of inappropriate advances and touching by four other men.

Ben Moody, who co-founded Evanescence, has since come forward to deny claims that Jones was fired from the band for speaking up, though he did acknowledge Jones telling him of the incident. However, at the time, he thought it was consensual.

“I was a kid, only 18, and clearly didn’t realize what he was going through,” Moody said. “I’m sure I missed a lot of things I’d recognize today. I didn’t realize he was traumatized.”

As of this writing, eight alleged victims have now come forward, three of whom were boys at the time of the alleged assault.

Michael Tait is most known as the frontman for DC Talk as well, and his song, God's Not Dead, served as the anthem for Donald Trump’s MAGA movement. Tait is also an ardent supporter of the incumbent president and reportedly played a key role in his gaining evangelical voters.

As of this writing, Michael Tait has yet to address the allegations head-on, though he did take to Instagram last month to come clean about a decades-long substance abuse issue, and that he had “at times, touched men in an unwanted, sensual way."

Michael Tait also said that he had “spent six weeks at a treatment center in Utah," before concluding it with a quote from Psalm 51.

“Recent reports of my reckless and destructive behaviour, including drug and alcohol abuse and sexual activity are sadly, largely true…I am ashamed of my life choices and actions, and make no excuses for them. 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," the post read, in part.

Since the allegations emerged last month, The Tennessean has reported that Educational Media Foundation, a Christian radio heavyweight, has stopped playing Michael Tait's former band's music from their "Decades" digital stream. Musician Chris Sligh told the outlet that he had heard allegations in the same vein about Tait in the past from four different men.

“ Almost word-for-word, all the details were the same,” Sligh said in an interview. “They think he drugged their drink and woke up to Tait fondling them and then he moved to a foot rub when he felt like he was caught.”

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Also Read: Who is Jason Jones? All about founding manager of rock band Evanescence as he claims Michael Tait sexually assaulted him