Skillet lead singer and podcaster John Cooper spoke out about the reaction to the emerging scandal surrounding former DC Talk and Newsboys member Michael Tait, saying that he felt that the Christian music industry had not responded adequately to the revelation that Tait was living a “double life” that included substance abuse and alleged assault.
For background, on an episode of his podcast, “Cooper Stuff,” John Cooper — the frontman of the Christian rock band Skillet — said that he felt a “burden from the Lord” to weigh in on the Michael Tait scandal; Tait admitted in early June that he had lived a “double life” after being accused of assault by multiple men.
During his broadcast, Cooper said that he was “very dissatisfied” with the reaction to Tait’s misconduct within the Christian music industry. Cooper pointed out that other Christian artists, in their own reactions to the scandal, seemed “heavily vested in the idea, which has some truth to it, of ‘Hey, let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Hey, we all need to have grace. We’re all sinners. We need to focus on my own sin.’”
Continuing, Cooper said that “these things are true,” but clarified, “That is not where we need to begin.” He added, “We need a full-throated condemnation of these acts, not a condemnation of people. We’re not condemning people. We’re condemning the actions of people. Full-throatedly, unapologetically, we do not shrink back.”
Moreover, the musician said that it was “improper” to adopt the mindset of “we’ve got to be loving, we’re all sinners, we’ve all fallen short, and we can’t bring judgment.” He continued, “Yes, we’re all sinners. There’s a time for that … but there are categories on the front of this that we cannot skip.” Cooper then said, “We cannot turn a blind eye to this level of alleged injustice. We cannot do that!”
Furthermore, Cooper stated that his priority was Tait’s alleged victims, describing the accusations against Tait as “very dark” and adding, “This stuff is so egregious, and it shames the Gospel to such a huge level.” He added, “We’re not condemning people. We’re condemning the actions of people full-throatedly, unapologetically. We do not shrink back.”
In addition, Cooper reminded his listeners that the Gospel “demands that you stand up for justice,” adding that it was important to be skeptical about Tait’s apology, saying, “Even if it is real, that does not deny that he did some really bad stuff to these victims.” He continued, “We don’t want PR, and we don’t want platform restoration. … We need real, painful, public turning from sin.”
For his part, Tait claimed in a social media apology on June 11, 2025, that the allegations against him were “largely true,” admitting, “For some two decades I used and abused cocaine, consumed far too much alcohol, and, at times, touched men in an unwanted sensual way. I am ashamed of my life choices and actions, and make no excuses for them.”
Featured image credit: John Cooper via X