Mr. Campbell, you are in Paternity Court today to prove that the defendant’s three-year-old daughter Zoe is your child. You claim that her mother, Miss Hopper, told you that you were her father, but now she’s changed her story. Is that correct?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

You want the DNA test to prove what you know, so you can be a father to your little girl?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Ms. Hopper, you claim to be certain that Mr. Campbell is not Zoe’s biological father. So Mr. Campbell, why is the DNA test so important to you?

“I think it’s time for me to find out if Zoe is my daughter or not. If she deserves to know who her father is. And she keeps flip-flopping, saying one day that I am, one day that I’m not the father. Being the father of Zoe has given me a reason to continue on the right path.”

When you say it keeps you on the right path, you’ve been making better decisions?

“Yes, Your Honor. Since I felt like I’ve become a father.”

And you don’t want that taken away from you?

“No.”

So you say Miss Hopper told you that you were the father?

“Yes.”

And then changed her mind?

“Yes. Every time we get into a fight, all of a sudden I’m not the father anymore.”

So when you’re doing fine, you’re the father?

“Yeah.”

Then when you get into an argument, you’re not the father?

“Yes.”

And so now we’re currently stuck on “not the father”?

“Yeah.”

Miss Hopper, I only told him there’s a possibility. I’ve never told him that he was the father.

“That’s not true at all.”

That is true. He knew that it was between him and my ex-boyfriend since she was like six months old.

Did she tell you from the beginning, Mr. Campbell, that it was you and possibly the ex-boyfriend?

“No. At first, she told me not to worry, that it wasn’t my daughter. That it was not. That was when she was pregnant. After she had the baby, when the baby was about six months old, that’s when she told me that I could be the father. And every time I FaceTime her on Facebook, she has Zoe call me ‘Daddy.’”

Well, was it by herself? Because she thinks that’s her daddy. Her that my ex-boyfriend isn’t in her life.

Let me understand. What is this relationship? Were you all boyfriend and girlfriend?

“Yeah, we were.”

And then what happened to the point that you get pregnant by maybe your ex or maybe Mr. Campbell?

“I was actually seeing both of them at the same time. And so this wasn’t a cheating thing. This was a parallel thing, pretty much.”

This is what we want. The truth. Go ahead.

“And I just kind of thought maybe it was both of them. The day that they say she was conceived, I had seen both of them at the same time.”

Same time? Same day?

“Same day. Not the same time. Same day.”

Oh, okay. So you had sex with both men in the same day on the day you believe she was conceived?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

That’s your call. A paternity issue, Your Honor. Mr. Campbell, did you know that she was also seeing her ex at the same exact time she was dating you?

“I had no clue.”

Okay. Did you know that she had also slept with the ex on the same day she slept with you?

“No.”

Okay. So that’s why we’re here.

How long did you continue this parallel affair?

“Um, for about a month. And then I was with my ex-boyfriend. He was pretty much there through the pregnancy.”

He was there? Your ex-boyfriend?

“Yes.”

So he went to doctor’s appointments?

“Yes. And I did give him her last name, and he is on the birth certificate.”

I want to understand the flip-flopping in terms of paternity. You told Mr. Campbell, “Don’t worry, she’s not yours.” Then you said she is yours. Then you’re saying now she’s not his. But Zoe calls him “Daddy.” What is going on?

“And when she was younger, when she was about six months old, she did look a lot like him. She had really big cheeks. She was really chunky. So she did have a lot of features of him. But now she looks a lot like my ex-boyfriend.”

So you’re just looking at the child, and you’re telling him yes, you’re telling him no.

“I’ve only told him that there’s a possibility. I’ve never told him that he was the father or anything like that.”

“She just told me that I was the father. That’s what made me believe.”

You’ve brought your mother as a witness. I’d like to hear from her, ma’am. Please state your name for the court.

“My name is Joni Campbell.”

Ms. Campbell, thank you for joining us. Were you ever told that your son was the biological father of little Zoe?

“Yes, Your Honor. I was contacted on Facebook. She let me know that she believed my son was the father. And I have some proof of it.”

Oh, I’d like to see that proof.

“On July 23rd, I received a friend request on Facebook. And I said, ‘Hello, you requested me. Please remind me how I know you.’ She says, ‘I’m Elaine. I’m Jason’s ex. I’m the one who thinks he is the father of my child.’ Okay. And I said, ‘Okay, nice to hear from you.’ And she said, ‘Thanks.’ That was cordial. We began to talk, and we had a conversation. And I did ask her, I said, ‘You really believe he is the father?’ And she said, ‘My daughter looks like him. He is really the only possibility.’”

Ms. Hopper, now you just testified in court that you always maintained with Mr. Campbell that he was one of two options. Why would you tell his mother that he’s the only possible father?

“When I contacted her, I said I thought that he was the father. And that’s why I said—”

Well, the message reads: “My daughter looks like him. He is really the only possibility.”

If you’re telling him that he is just a possibility, but you’re telling his mom he’s the only possibility, what is the story?

“Your Honor, I’ve given him chances to take a DNA test, and he refused to do it because of a girl he was with.”

So did you refuse the DNA test, Mr. Campbell?

“Uh, yes, I did.”

So why bring her to court today? I mean, you refused the test.

“I’m just really ready to find out or not. I wasn’t in the right state of mind. I wasn’t prepared before. And I wasn’t matured enough.”

The only time that I ever heard from her is right before the birthdays and right before Christmases. That’s the only time that she would even try to contact us. And we had good communication going back and forth. She would even send me pictures of Zoe with the birthday presents and stuff.

So you believe that she was contacting just to get presents?

“Well, yes, ma’am. Yes, Your Honor. I do. Not only that, we had this conversation going on, and then all of a sudden, I started noticing on Facebook how they had other men. She was claiming other men to be the father.”

Where did you see this on Facebook? What did she say?

“She was just claiming how someone’s dad and talking about different paternity tests with other men.”

And then I was even seen—you were talking about paternity tests on Facebook?

“There’s been a paternity test for her at all? Oh, Your Honor, she has told me that she got a DNA test for the other possible father and that he wasn’t the father.”

Is that true?

“That is not true. I’ve never told him that.”

So just making this up, Ms. Hopper?

“I do. I’ve never contacted her around holidays. Her sending presents was for her. I’ve taken care of my child by myself since she was born. I don’t need help from anybody. I mean, if he’s the father, I’ll let him be a father. My daughter needs a father. But at the same time, I don’t need his money.”

Your Honor, I’ve seen other women on her Facebook claiming to be the grandmother. I didn’t appreciate all these other women claiming to be the grandmother.

What is your relationship with Zoe, Ms. Campbell?

“I have never met Zoe. Really, really. But she’s been in Oklahoma quite a few times and has never asked to meet Zoe.”

Your son has done video chats. You’ve established a relationship. Am I correct?

“Yes. She calls you ‘Daddy.’ Yes.”

Why hasn’t your mom had the opportunity to meet her yet?

“We live in different states. When she first contacted me, Zoe was almost a year old. She was right about a year old, and I was pretty concerned. Why didn’t you ever contact me before? And she let me know, ‘Well, I’ve tried, but my son’s—Mr. Campbell’s ex had blocked all the information to where we could contact each other.’ So when Zoe was a year old, then she contacts me, and we started having a conversation. And she would send me lots of pictures of Zoe and constantly saying how she believes Zoe is Jason’s.”

So now you’re just saying now, Ms. Hopper, because of her appearance now that she doesn’t seem to look like Mr. Campbell anymore, you’ve changed your mind? I mean, it sounds like you were working to develop a relationship.

“I never changed my mind. I mean, there’s still that possibility. But she looks a lot like—and she has his facial expressions. She has her nose. His eyes.”

Is the other man in her life, and he takes her like once every four months or so? It’s kind of when it’s convenient for him, Your Honor.

“Out of the blue, she sends me a message telling me that my son is not the father and calls me old and tells me to leave my—to tell my fat kids to stay out of her life. I blocked her. And that’s why we haven’t had any communication, Your Honor.”

That was not me. And he actually blocked Jason and his family off of my Facebook. So that was not me who contacted her like that.

It was on her. It was through her Facebook?

“Yes, but it was not me.”

It didn’t say anyone else. It was by—when I see it, I see her name from her Facebook, cussing me, calling me names and my children names and threatening us, telling me that I need to tell my son to take the pictures of Zoe off his Facebook or there was going to be hell to pay.

I had Zoe as my background picture on my Facebook, and I was not gonna take her off no matter what anybody said. But I was going through a court issue for getting full custody of my daughter. And with her being on his background, it was kind of hard. So I had to remove that to be able to get full custody of her.

You’ve brought a witness, ma’am. I’d like to hear from her. Please stand. Your name for the court?

“Brittany Hopper.”

Ms. Hopper, you are her sister?

“Her sister.”

All right. Please tell the court what do you know about this paternity issue.

“I know that I’ve been with my sister the entire time. I was the only one that actually stood there full time. I’ve only met Mr. Campbell a couple times. When it comes down to it when she says that they were sleeping with them both, I was in my own world then, and I don’t ever remember her being with two people at the same time.”

She just admitted it in court.

“Yeah, I think that when it comes to—I don’t think she’d stand in open court and admit that she had slept with two men in one day.”

Please, even if she did, she was with her ex a lot more than she was Mr. Campbell.

But it only takes one time, doesn’t it? It only takes one time.

“Yeah, and I have a child because of only one time. But when it comes to, I just don’t think Zoe belongs to—well, I think—”

All right, thank you so much. You may take a seat, ma’am.

All the confusion, Your Honor. It’s not fair to us, and it’s definitely not fair to Zoe.

No, it is confused. I can only imagine. How confusing it is. She’s three now. She calls your son “Daddy.” She doesn’t know you, her grandmother. And then there’s another guy that comes around her every once every four months. I don’t know who she thinks he is. Who does she think this guy is?

“She kind of goes off and on. She calls him ‘Dad.’”

We’ve got to get this straightened out for this little girl.

I think it’s time to go to the results. Jerome, these results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case of Campbell versus Hopper, when it comes to three-year-old Zoe, it has been determined by this court: Mr. Campbell, you are not the father.

I’m sorry. I know you really wanted to be her dad.

Ms. Hopper, I wasn’t sure where you were in this equation. I could never get a read. But I do see tears in your eyes in this moment. What are you feeling?

“I don’t know. I was kind of hoping that he was.”

You felt like she looked like the other guy, but you kind of just were hoping that he was?

“Yeah.”

Do you feel like the other gentleman will take more of an active role in her life, in terms of picking her up?

“I doubt it.”

Mr. Campbell, you went over and you hugged Ms. Hopper. Can I ask you what you said to her?

“That’s all right. Nothing’s gonna change. You still want to be there for Zoe.”

Yes. She’s a beautiful, beautiful little girl.

Ms. Hopper, you were very honest, and it took a lot of courage to just say, “Yes, I was dating two men at once, and yes, I did sleep with them on the same day.” Now you need to go forward. You have Mr. Campbell. You have his mother. They seem like they will be very supportive to you. And yet this little girl has her biological father out here in the world, and it’s going to be up to you to try to at least establish some type of communication where he can be a part of her life.

And Mr. Campbell, I want you to know that I want you to keep doing the right thing. When you spoke earlier in your testimony about how much being Zoe’s father meant to you and how it’s helped you begin to make better decisions, and you said it helped to change your life.

But it’s up to you now to understand that that little girl is still counting on you to stay on the right path.

Ms. Bruton, you claim to be 100% positive that Mr. Martin is not your son’s biological father because your ex-boyfriend, Mr. Richardson, is. Is that correct?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

You say today’s DNA test will allow you to get rid of Mr. Martin and to finally reconcile your relationship with Mr. Richardson. Is that correct?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Mr. Martin, you say Ms. Bruton led you to believe that you had fathered her seven-month-old son, Logan. You claim Ms. Bruton kept the baby from you in hopes that she could build a family with Mr. Richardson and not you.

“Yes.”

Today, you believe the DNA results will prove you are the biological father.

So, Ms. Bruton, why are you so sure Mr. Martin is not your child’s father?

“First of all, Logan looks just like Anthony. They have the same ears, eyes, nose. And he don’t favor Mr. Martin at all. So that’s why I’m sure.”

Just by looks alone?

“Yeah. By looks alone.”

But Mr. Martin, you disagree.

“Yeah, because I know I had unprotected sex around the time that she could conceive. She might say I didn’t have it as many times as she said I did, but I know. It’s a fact. 99.7% no—yeah, that it is mine.”

Your Honor, we only had unprotected sex twice.

“No, that’s it. Twice in my apartment. Twice. It was three at her apartment. Two at her family member’s house. One at my house and one in the car.”

You know, it only takes one time.

“Yes, it is.”

All right, so you say this is your child, Mr. Martin, and you know that for certain?

“Yes.”

In the court papers, you say she led you to believe it at first. How did she lead you to believe that?

“Because she called me and said she was pregnant. So I was happy and stuff. And then like after two weeks after she told me, she just like disappeared. Ain’t answering my phone calls, ain’t do nothing.”

So you’re saying she called you to tell you, “I’m pregnant and you’re the father.”

“At first.”

Did you call him and say, “I’m pregnant and you’re the father”?

“First of all, I called both of them because I wasn’t for sure who the father was because I slept with both of them around the same time.”

Okay, so you do admit his testimony is true?

“Yeah.”

Take me back. I want to understand this relationship. So how do you get to the point where you’re in a relationship with Mr. Richardson, but you’re having sex unprotected with Mr. Martin?

“With me and Mr. Richardson, we was having our ups and downs in our relationship. And so when I met Mr. Martin, I confided in him as a friend. And then our friendship grew into a sexual relationship. But it wasn’t nothing more than that. My heart always been with Anthony.”

All right. So you were always in love with Mr. Richardson, but you ended up cheating on him with Mr. Martin. You also did not use protection, correct?

“Correct.”

And so you knew you were just the go-to guy, Mr. Martin? Or did you think you were in a relationship?

“Nah, I was just the go-to guy.”

So you knew that?

“Yeah, I knew that. I really wanted me a child at the time. So I was trying to get her pregnant. And I did tell her that.”

You were trying to break it—that you didn’t want to be in a relationship?

“Yeah, but I didn’t want to be in a relationship with her.”

But you were trying to get her pregnant?

“Yeah.”

So you just gonna go out and just make a baby with anybody?

“No, not with anybody. I gotta get to know you.”

Okay, but surely you’re not even in a relationship with her?

“No.”

No, nor do you want to be in a relationship?

“No.”

But you’re going to go make a baby? You want to purposefully make a baby with her? And how old are you?

“19.”

19 years old. Mr. Martin, really? That’s just irresponsible with a capital I.

Anyway. At some point, you realize you’re pregnant, yes, ma’am. You say you call both men?

“Yes, because I knew one of them had to be the father.”

All right. So when you went to the doctor and confirmed you were pregnant, did your doctor give you a window of conception? Did they give you a date?

“Yes. April the 8th.”

April the 8th. All right. When you were intimate with Mr. Richardson—that’s who you claim was the father, right?

“Yes.”

Do you remember when you were intimate with him?

“Yes, yes, Your Honor. April the 7th.”

Okay, so very close to that date. Very close. So that’s Richardson. Now I have to ask you, when were you intimate with Mr. Martin?

“April the 10th and April the 11th.”

That’s it?

“Yes, it is true. We only had sex twice.”

Listen, that’s so not true. You’re disputing those days?

“Yeah. You were intimate before the seventh. It was like on the fifth, maybe.”

That was the first—you were intimate with her before and after this date. What she has already testified to puts you in the window of conception, regardless. Yes. So in many ways, you in there. Yes. You are a possible father of this child.

“I don’t know who he think he slept with more than twice, but it sure wasn’t me. We only had sex twice.”

So at the point that you find out you’re pregnant, you call them both. You’re honest. You say to both of them that there could potentially be—

“I didn’t tell them about each other. I just told them that I’m pregnant.”

Oh, so you didn’t tell the other man that there was another possibility? I had to keep it a secret because I was in love with Mr. Richardson, and I didn’t want him to find out about Mr. Martin.

If you were so in love with him, why was we having sexual relationships? That’s no way of showing love.

“I understand what’s happening. And I didn’t feel any love and attention from Mr. Richardson, so I got it from him.”

Okay, okay. Then that means you wasn’t in love with him.

“Yes, I mean—”

Anyway, Mr. Martin, so who stepped up for you during this pregnancy?

“Mr. Richardson, really. I was trying my best to avoid Mr. Martin because he’s very messy, trying to break up me and Mr. Richardson’s relationship.”

And when you told him he was a potential father?

“Yes.”

Mr. Martin, did you try to be there?

“Yeah, I tried. But after them two weeks, she just disappeared. It was like nothing.”

Where did you go?

“I just wasn’t answering the phone. Every time he’ll come see a family member of mine, I wouldn’t be around it because I didn’t want to see him or have nothing to do with him. I was worrying about my pregnancy and being with Mr. Richardson.”

So you admit in court today that you purposefully just really shut him out?

“Yes, I did.”

Because you wanted the relationship with Mr. Richardson?

“Yes.”

Two weeks you disappeared?

“Yes. I did. You just faded to black. Yes, Ms. Bruton.”

Once you faded to black and you admittedly cut Mr. Martin out of the experience of being present during your pregnancy, even though you said to him, “You are possibly this child’s father,” what happens when you give birth? Who’s at the hospital?

“Mr. Richardson was at the hospital. I have no idea where Mr. Martin was because we wasn’t in contact with each other.”

And who signed the birth certificate?

“Mr. Richardson.”

I didn’t even let Mr. Martin know when I had Logan.

You didn’t? You didn’t think he had a right to know that the baby was coming, that it could be his?

“No, because I wanted Mr. Richardson to know all of that. I didn’t want Mr. Martin to know none of that because I don’t want him to be Logan’s father.”

So you allowed Mr. Richardson to sign the birth certificate because you think he’s the father, or because you hope he’s the father?

“Both. I think he’s the father, and I’m hoping he’s the father.”

So now he’s legally responsible for this child. Yes. When you sign a birth certificate, you are acknowledging paternity, and you are taking responsibility legally for this child. And now you’re in Paternity Court with another man that says he’s also this child’s father, and the reason why he believes that is because you told him.

“Because he wants kids so bad. But Logan is not his.”

That’s why he most definitely is.

“He is.”

Why do you think she’s denying that you are Logan’s father?

“I mean, I really believe that she’s trying to hurt me deep down inside.”

But why is it about hurting you? Or do you think it’s about just keeping the relationship with Mr. Richardson?

“Both.”

Mr. Richardson, I want to hear from you. Please stand. Step up to the podium. Do you believe you’re Logan’s father?

“I know you do. I feel that way. Yes.”

When did you realize that there was another man in the picture?

“Because she says—I didn’t tell Mr. Richardson about Mr. Martin because I didn’t want him to know. I actually found out four months after Logan was born.”

Really? So when you’re in the hospital, you’re thinking that without a doubt this is my child that’s being born today?

“Yes. And that’s why you signed the birth certificate.”

Yes. But it wasn’t until four months after this child was born you found out about Mr. Martin.

“Yes.”

How’d you find out?

“Well, one day we was sitting down one morning, and she came out and told me, like, ‘Oh, I’ve been sleeping with Mr. Martin.’”

That’s not exactly how it went, Your Honor.

How’d it go?

“I had suspicions of Mr. Richardson cheating on me. And so when I felt like he was hurting me, I decided to hurt him to get back at him. So that’s when I came and told him that it’s a possibility that Mr. Martin is Logan’s father.”

You had some pictures of me because of things that you do. Ms. Bruton, you playing these men like a game of chess.

So once you heard that, Mr. Richardson, what was your response?

“It really tore me up. Because I’ve been with her throughout that pregnancy. Been there. Signed a birth certificate and everything. Held him in my arms. Doing what I know—the right thing to do for a child that I know that’s mine. He looks just like me. His eyes. His head. I know that’s my son. Look at that. He looked just like me. He came out nice, just like my family, man. When he was born. What family member? Just like my baby picture of him.”

Let’s just be frank. Let’s just call it like it is. At the point a woman says to you, “I was intimate with another man during the time I conceived Logan,” doesn’t some doubt set in? Have you ever just said to yourself, “This may not be my child”?

“Yes, it did. But more so, he is my child.”

He is your child. Well, under the law, he most certainly is. That’s right. Even if he didn’t sign the birth certificate? So it doesn’t matter because I know for a fact. I just know.

You don’t know.

“Yes, I do.”

But Mr. Richardson’s standing here saying that Logan looks like him and one of his family members. Honestly, y’all do. Logan look anything like Mr. Martin? He got him out there. Those are my lips. That’s me right there.

I completely understand how you want to stand in court today and just say, “I am positive that this is Mr. Richardson’s child.” Because you’ve made it clear that you don’t want to be with Mr. Martin. You never have. You’ve always wanted to be with Mr. Richardson because that’s the man you love.

“Yes.”

And you purposefully cut him out.

“Yes.”

But there’s this little smirk you doing and this little smile. I’m hoping it’s out of nervousness and not out of your failure to appreciate the severity of this situation. Because ultimately, this is really your fault. And everything that has happened here today is a product of your intention. You didn’t just slip on a banana peel and end up in the bed with Mr. Martin by accident. You’re saying all of this is purposeful, and that disturbs me.

“Y’all, I’m human.”

So what I’m saying is one main mistake?

“Look, when I see you kind of smirking and laughing, it irks me.”

“It only does do that because he’s the father.”

Why, Ms. Bruton? Father? Well, I want you to get out of his head. You told him.

“Yeah, I told him. But when Logan came, Logan don’t look nothing like Mr. Martin. So I know it’s Mr. Richardson.”

And now you’re here, and you’re saying you’re 100%?

“I’m 100% positive that Mr.—”

You just want to mess up our family, Mr. Martin.

“Yes, you do.”

I just wish I—let me understand this. Are you annoyed by him because he thinks he’s the father, or are you annoyed by him because you think he’s trying to break up you and Mr. Richardson?

“Both. I’m annoyed by him because he thinks he’s the father. I’m annoyed by him because he’s trying to break up me and Anthony.”

I know that’s my son. Okay. We’ll see.

All right. Ain’t no way.

I think it’s time for the results.

“No way. That’s my son.”

Thank you, Jerome. Mr. Richardson, I have to ask you this. If he’s not your biological child, are you going to stay in the relationship and try to make it work?

“Right now, I really can’t answer that. I really can’t. Because we have to sit down.”

You see that, Ms. Bruton? You see that? I could see it in your eyes.

All right. These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case of Bruton versus Martin, as it pertains to seven-month-old Logan Richardson, and as to whether Mr. Richardson or Mr. Martin is the biological father, it has been determined by this court: Mr. Richardson, you are not the father.

“What? Mr. Martin, I told you! I told you! I knew it!”

You are the father.

“I told you what it was! Not possible! No, no, no! We need to get something. He’s the father! Ms. Bruton, I realize you thought you were playing a game of chess, but the DNA is not a game. You can manipulate a man or two men, but the DNA does not lie, sweetheart. Mr. Martin is your child’s biological father. And Mr. Richardson, I have to say I’m very sorry, because I knew you did not see that coming.”

“No, I did. I’m very sorry.”

Mr. Martin, I have to say to you congratulations, because I know you truly wanted this child to be yours. And baby Logan is, in fact, your biological child.

“I don’t believe it.”

You don’t want to believe it, that’s all it is. You played the game so hard, you played yourself, baby.

“Can you believe this, man? I can’t believe—”

Ms. Tell us, you are back in my courtroom today for a second time.

“Yes, ma’am.”

So you’re saying Ms. Tillis, he was jealous? I’d talk to my friend on the phone. What friend? My friend from years before him. Why were you on the phone with him living in his house, and that’s your boyfriend? Thank you. Why am I looking at your phone and you got nude pictures going to your ex? Why you ain’t with that ex?

Well, now you say Mr. Jalique is denying your six-month-old daughter, Gianni, because he is confused and delusional, but you have no doubt. You say that he is the father. Is that correct?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Mr. Jalique, you say Ms. Tillis has demonstrated questionable behavior, and until you are given 100% proof that you are the father, you cannot and will not fully commit to claiming Gianni as your biological daughter. Is that correct?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Ms. Tillis, tell the court why are today’s proceedings so important to you?

“The last time we were here, he denied our two-year-old son. And I’m here today to prove to him that he is Gianni’s father. It is very important to me and him. And I just want the inconsistency to stop. Him being hot and cold with it. If I have to be a full-time mother, then he needs to be a full-time father. He needs to be there the same amount of time that I’m there with them.”

And you’re feeling frustrated because this paternity question is allowing Mr. Jalique to be on and off like a faucet?

“Yes. Sometimes running hot, sometimes running cold. Yes.”

So what is your current relationship status? What’s going on between the two of you?

“For the most part, we’re co-parenting. But my definition of co-parenting is we don’t have any dealings with each other, and we take care of the kids. It’s strictly about the kids.”

Co-parenting. You’re just co-parenting? And commingling?

“Yeah.”

Cohabitation? And cohabitating, too? You’re living together?

“Yes, Lord.”

All right. Next page. So Mr. Jalique, can you take me back? What was going on in this relationship when baby Gianni was conceived?

“We were together. I was out of state during June and July. We wasn’t even vibing. The end of July when you got back—I mean, the end of June when you had returned, we started messing around because everything went back to being cool with us. Yes. It was all right.”

You submitted to the court?

“Yes, I did.”

I want to go over that. Please step over to the podium. Tell the court what is outlined in this case.

“Was outlined in red, Janaya. It’s the time that I left and went out of state to visit family to go into the Fourth of July holiday. During this time in red, I was not in the same state as Ms. Tillis. June 24th to July 5th, I was out of state with family.”

All right. So we’re next. Between the time in the red and the time of the green, my son’s birthday was here. July the 29th, he turned two here. So the week before my son’s birthday, I guess you can say we cooled down. We kind of reconciled our differences because his birthday was coming up. So we may have had sex the week before my son’s birthday. Between the rest of this, the red and the black, these days right here, we weren’t even dealing with each other because this was me out of state. And right before his birthday, she called me like, “Is it gonna be drama if I let you know you know, come to where you at?” I’m like, “It’s about him. It’s not about us right now.” So here is what me and Ms. Tillis may have had sex the end of July.

All right. And what I have here, Janaya was born April 1st, 2019. Tell her what my due date was though.

“I don’t know.”

She was not premature. She was not born a preemie. She was full, healthy on April the 1st. So when I did my calculation, I’m like, wait a minute. If I was out of town during the end of June coming into July, and she was born healthy on April the 1st, the timeframe don’t add up. That means, yes, ma’am, that would have put her conception up here around the time I wasn’t even in the city. I feel like it puts it right around the first week, early part of the second week of July. Had to be. And you were gone.

“Yes, ma’am. Basically, her conception date, if I’m the father, should have been back here somewhere to give it a full nine-month run. If she’s not a premature baby, if the doctor’s saying she carried this child full term, then you telling me you got pregnant in July and then nine months later you dropped on the first of April? It don’t add up to me. And she’s full term.”

All right. Thank you so much, sir. You may step back to the podium.

So, Ms. Tillis, what is your response to this evidence?

“I got pregnant with her the end of July. So August, September, October, November, December, January, February, March, and then April. And before then, before he left out of town, I wasn’t messing with anybody. So I don’t care what he’s talking about.”

So, outside of the conception day being off to me, the calculation’s not adding up. I picked the phone up from my son because he was like that, and I picked him up and sat him in my lap. He had a phone that was open. I directly went to her gallery.

And Ms. Tillis’s photos, you have a picture of a month-old fresh newborn, which is right here, and one of her ex-boyfriends cropped together in her phone. The baby ain’t even sixty days old yet. Why is you cropping a picture of my daughter with your ex?

Wow. That’s a great question.

“And I told him I was on the phone with my sister.”

None of that makes sense. I could be on the phone with my brother, but I ain’t gonna crop no picture of my brother’s child and put another person.

“And my sister came a little odd. I mean, my sister is there for me to be like, ‘How does she look like this person right here?’ So I put something together, and I sent it to myself.”

Hold on. You going on and on. When I say hold on, that does not give you any more credibility. It just makes you look like you making up a bunch of nonsense.

“The truth is—”

No. The truth is right now, in this moment, you have a very real issue that you need to be honest enough to deal with. If you’re going to align another man’s picture up with your newborn baby’s face, you are obviously trying to prove or disprove something. Either way, it’s problematic.

“I guess. But she is—we should not be here. The picture is the problem.”

If you feel like she’s not yours, why come over there and hold her and say, “Hey, Dada,” and kissing all on my baby, acting cool with her one minute, and then when me and you get into an argument, you just talking to our son and you will ignore her?

What are you saying, Ms. Tillis? Mr. Jalique has expressed that he has doubts. But what I don’t understand is, when a man walks through your door and denies your baby, how you still laying down with them?

“You say you still sleeping with him?”

You feel like she’s yours? Why do this with her? Why do that with her? Why say little stuff if you feel like she’s—

“Because I’m still grown. I’m still a grown man.”

This is—we know for a fact she’s Jaden’s sister. What we trying to figure out is if I’m Gianni’s father. So whatever I do for Jaden, I’m gonna do for Gianni. So she don’t feel nothing but unconditional love from me.

“I’m a boy maker. Period. Point blank.”

Hold on, hold on, hold on. So Mr. Jalique, you only make boys?

“Yes, ma’am. In our courtroom before, all I make is NFL and NBA stars. That’s it. That’s all I produce. And scholars. And scholars. And scholars, too.”

So let me be clear. How many children do you have?

“Four.”

So you have four boys?

“Yes, ma’am.”

And you believe you only make boys?

“That’s all I got.”

So do you have any other evidence to support the fact that you just make boys?

“I was told a long, long, long, long, long time ago by a family member that that’s all I was going to ever make because that’s all I was producing. And I believe it wholeheartedly. So the fact that here coming out of nowhere a curveball—which is a beautiful blessing, right? Chill, maybe she is. Maybe she’s not. And again, the last time I was here, I told you honestly, the mom is a little friendly.”

At the end of the day, there are a lot of men who come into this courtroom and assert they only make boys. This is what they do. So if it’s a girl child, they couldn’t be the biological father of a girl child because they just make boys.

And so this court wanted to understand more and understand if this is in fact true and based in any type of real science or biology. So we would like to talk to Dr. Samantha Brown-Parks right now. Jerome, will you please escort the doctor into the courtroom? I want to find out if this is possible or not and let’s get down to the bottom of this once and for all. See, y’all ain’t the only one that can dig for facts.

Hello, Dr. Brown-Parks.

“Hi, Judge.”

Thank you so much for coming back with us. So we have a situation where Mr. Jalique is claiming that he only makes boy children. Therefore, beautiful baby Gianni cannot be his daughter. And I want to understand, is it possible for a man to only create one gender of offspring?

“So let’s go back for a little biology lesson. Women are double Xers. They have two X chromosomes. Men are an X and a Y. So that means, statistics being statistics, that over time or over the number of children that you have, every shot is a 50/50 shot between an X and a Y that he’s going to contribute.”

Is there ever a situation where a man’s Y would outrun the X, or the X would outrun the Y?

“So there’s lots of theories about that, and there have been all sorts of studies. And these studies look mostly at family trees going backwards. So there does tend to be a tendency in families of boys to produce more boys. But there’s no hard evidence. There’s no gene that’s been associated. But that would be more reflective of your family that you come from, meaning you come from a family of boys, rather than you producing multiple male offspring.”

So what we’re really learning is this notion that a man can only produce one gender is a myth.

“Indeed.”

Hmm. Don’t count out—I drink my prune juice and lemon juice, so that helps me create boys. That’s what I’m saying.

Prune juice and lemon juice?

“Yes.”

All right, we learned something new every day in here. And don’t forget pickle juice. That’s good, too.

“Pickle juice is a natural remedy as well. A natural, natural—see, I can’t—I can’t go. It’s a Southern thing that we will talk way, way back. Way, way back time. What is it if you come by produce more boys? Yes, ma’am. Those three juices. I’ve been running down through the years. I ain’t got nothing but boys.”

Not lately. You heard what he said for the—you know, the city. It’s contrary. Found me out of that.

“Well, yeah, because you’re a woman.”

You honestly think it was for the boys?

“I am obviously not a scholar. I’m only—I’m only kidding.”

Sometimes you gotta laugh in it and just laugh. It’s been so tense. I will say this, that we really do have some very real stakes today. I’ve listened to you guys go back and forth, and if you’re able to go back and forth in this way and pretty much not agree on one thing for the last 36 minutes, I can only imagine what it’s like at home.

“Oh, no. Really.”

So let’s get the truth for this baby and let’s figure out where we go from here. All right, Jerome, I’m ready for the envelope.

These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case of Tillis versus Jalique, when it comes to six-month-old Gianni Jalique, it has been determined by this court: Mr. Jalique, you are the father.

You’ve got your first little girl. Congratulations. You don’t have to switch up your juice. I’m sorry. I’m proud. Like I said, I’m human. You showed me a newborn that’s supposed to be mine, and she cropped with another man. I mean, it’s gonna—we know. I can’t go back over that. That’s the past. I’m looking now.

I told you—listen, listen, I’m not going back over that. I’m sick of hearing y’all argue back and forth about nothing. The baby is his. You have been vindicated again, Ms. Tillis. This is his child. What are you gonna do now?

“Same thing I’ve been doing since she was born April 1st. Be her father.”

Be in and out? Because that I’m done with.

Mr. Jalique, you are a man with a lot to say. You’re a man with a lot to say, and you seem to have answers and reasoning for everything. You produce scholars. So I am going to speak to your intellect and your intelligence right now. Gianni, you know this woman wants to be with you.