(RNS) — The founder of one of the most popular Christian music groups in recent decades has sued key players in the Christian concert business, along with a pair of journalists and one of the nation’s largest charities, claiming they worked together to ruin his company.
In a complaint filed April 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Wes Campbell, co-founder of Newsboys and owner of a Christian concert promotion company called Thriving Children Advocates, said that his company and the band’s ministry “have been destroyed by the actions of the Defendants, including their publication of defamatory articles fueled by competitors with anticompetitive motives.”
“The lawsuit alleges an orchestrated campaign to drive Campbell and Newsboys out of the Christian concert market,” reads a website promoting the lawsuit.
Among those named in the complaint are journalists Julie Roys and Jessica Morris, Christian music group MercyMe, the charity World Vision and several concert promotion companies owned by Waterland Private Equity Investments, a firm in the Netherlands.
Journalist Julie Roys. (Courtesy photo)
At issue are a pair of articles, published by The Roys Report, a Christian investigative media company founded by Roys, about alleged sexual misconduct by Michael Tait, the former lead singer of the Newsboys. Those stories alleged that Tait watched in a hotel room while a member of the band’s crew sexually assaulted another band employee and that the band’s manager covered it up.
The complaint alleges that the encounter described in the stories was consensual and that the alleged victim went on to work for a rival promoter, who created a false narrative to harm the Newsboys.
“The question of why they reported this story when they knew it was false, is in part what this suit will reveal,” the complaint alleges.
Tait, who left Newsboys in 2025, has confessed to living a double life involving drug abuse and unwanted sexual advances toward men. Campbell and Newboys have denied knowing about his misconduct, saying Tait deceived them. Newsboys canceled a planned tour in Canada after news of Tait’s misconduct broke and has not performed since.
The complaint also reveals details of the inner workings of the Christian concert business.
Lawyers for Campbell allege that companies owned by Waterland control about 80% of contempo …