Wes Campbell and the musicians of the Christian band Newsboys have filed a federal lawsuit against World Vision, The Roys Report and concert promoters for an “orchestrated campaign to drive Campbell and Newsboys out of the Christian concert market.”
The lawsuit, filed in the Middle District of Tennessee, alleges the musical ministry of Campbell and the Newsboys has been destroyed by the defendants who published “defamatory articles fueled by competitors with anticompetitive motives.” Campbell is co-founder of Newsboys and owner of a Christian concert promotion company called Thriving Children Advocates. See related story by Religion News Service.
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The lawsuit relates to an alleged rape of “Nicole” involving Matt Brewer and Michael Tait — former lead singer of Newsboys — some 11 years earlier; a story that Campbell claims “every word” of is false and defamatory, but which spread throughout the Christian community.
Campbell claims that “Nicole” reported to police in Fargo that the encounter was consensual and that even though The Roys Report had that information, it did not report her statement made contemporaneously to the events.
The lawsuit asserts the allegedly defamatory article was part of a larger anti-competitive battle between Campbell and his companies and Waterland, a Dutch venture capital hedge fund that acquired Transparent Productions, Premier Productions Holdings, and Rush Concerts.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Kim Roberts and originally published by MinistryWatch. With additional reporting by Religion News Service.
