Newsboys Sue Over Defamation, Antitrust Claims

0:00It's April 29th. This is music news today, music coverage powered by AI. West Campbell and the news boys just dropped a massive federal lawsuit, claiming defamation wrecked their reps and ministries. They're suing Julie Roy's report, MercyMe, a Dutch hedge fund called Waterland and others for over $50 million in damages. At the heart is a 2014 hotel hookup in Fargo between a lighting tech and a woman they call in the coal, which the suit says was totally. Consensual, with drummer Duncan Tate watching, no crime, just adults. The twist, they argue, came years later when the coal got fired and jumped to a rival firm gunning for Campbell's business, thriving children advocates. TCA hooks up Christian bands with charities for concert sponsorships, pulling in cash by 200 bucks for fans signed up. Eagles allegedly spun the old fling into a rape story to tank TCA and steal those lucrative deals. This hits hard in Christian music touring, where bands rely on non-profits like World

1:03Vision for sponsor money during shows. The suit blasts MercyMe for ditching a fresh TCA contract after Waterland dangled 500 per sponsor, calling it an anti-trust boycott under the Sherman Act that crushed news boys gigs too. Julie Royce says her site stands by the reporting and won't comment on the pending case, eyeing Texas anti-slap laws to fight back. Newsboys posted the suit on socials with shut down replies, while reps for Waterland and MercyMe stayed silent. Filed in Tennessee Federal Court, this saga exposes cutthroat competition in faith-based tours, blending old scandals with big money battles, eyes on. How courts sort the truth from the turf war.