Practice English Speaking&Listening with: Man Denied Pregnancy By Calling Girlfriend Fat (Full Episode) | Paternity Court

Please be seated.

Hello, Your Honor.

Hello.

This is the case of Brewington v. Lee.

Thank you, Jerome. Good day, everyone.

AUDIENCE: Good day.

Ms. Brewington, you are here to prove

your three-year-old son Giovanni

is Mr. Lee's biological child,

and you claim Mr. Lee has been a father

to your son since the day he was born,

and is denying paternity because he wants to avoid

paying child support, is that correct?

Yes, Your Honor.

JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Lee.

You say you've known from day one

Giovanni was not your son,

and you are here to prove Ms. Brewington is a liar,

and has been using you for money, is that correct?

Yes, Your Honor.

So, Ms. Brewington, you claim you are 100% certain

that Mr. Lee is the father.

Can you tell me how you know?

Yes, Your Honor. I am without a doubt

100% certain that he is my son's father.

Not only was I only sleeping with him,

we were actually working on our relationship.

We already have a child from a previous situation.

We got back together. We're working on us.

So, when I found out I was pregnant,

I didn't think it was gonna be a shock or a surprise

or anything like that.

And you say you know 100%

you're not the biological father of Giovanni.

Yes, Your Honor, I do.

I wanna know why you have doubt.

At the time that Gio was conceived,

we were not having no type of intercourse,

we were not cool at the moment.

You don't believe you were working on the relationship

at the time Giovanni was conceived.

LEE: No, not at all.

JUDGE LAKE: You weren't together?

No, not at all.

Your Honor, I was living with him.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

We were living in the same household,

in the same bed.

Were you living in the same house?

Around a time, yes.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

JUDGE LAKE: But you weren't together.

Exactly.

So, were you sharing a bed?

Yes, ma'am.

And fluids.

No.

(AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING)

Clearly, yes. Yes. Clearly.

I'm, I'm sorry, Your Honor.

I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

I'm sorry.

No, ma'am.

I will say, although she did not say it as

eloquently as I would have liked,

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

you can still be sexually

active with one another and not be in a relationship.

So, I guess, this does beg the question

were you still having sex?

At the time of conceivement, no.

So, you're saying during the window of time

when Giovanni was conceived,

you are certain that even though

Ms. Brewington lived in your house

and shared your bed, you weren't intimate with her.

Yes, ma'am.

Your Honor, I conceived my son in February...

My birthday is February 1st.

JUDGE LAKE: All right.

And from the first, until about

Valentine's Day, we were yeah. We were in there.

Take me back to...

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

Well, listen...

LEE: Not at all, not at all.

Take me back to the day you found out you were pregnant.

Okay, I found out that I was pregnant...

Um, I actually went to the doctor

to just re-up on my birth control.

Um, they said, "Oh, you

"actually missed your last shot."

I didn't even realize it.

They said that they had to do a pregnancy test

before they could go ahead with the birth control.

So, I went ahead. They did a pregnancy test,

it came up positive.

Um, I told him.

He completely... He did not believe me at all.

He went out and got three pregnancy tests,

made me take all of them.

They were all positive.

And he was like, "Well, that's not my baby."

Because we didn't have sex.

And I'm like, "What are you talking about?

"We've been having sex."

And then the last time we probably had sex was,

um, Valentine's Day, maybe a few days after.

I'm like, "This our whole love baby."

No, Your honor.

Like, you... No!

Definitely not.

Come on now. My son was due...

Definitely not.

He was born in November.

So, you seem so certain, Mr. Lee.

I do, because Imma explain it to you, Your Honor.

How she said her birthday is 2nd of February...

He doesn't wanna pay tax...

It's not. It's not.

Her birthday's on the 2nd of February,

My birthday's on the 1st of February.

(AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING)

Second.

My birthday is on the...

Now you'll tell me what day I was born?

It's the 2nd.

I was born on the 1st of February.

He said it's the 2nd. (CHUCKLES)

Yeah. Look, it's close. Just the same.

He around that just like he was around exactly.

See, exactly.

LEE: So...

Exactly. His sperm is like that, too.

LEE: Because you came to my house

complaining about how I didn't say "Happy Birthday."

That I didn't get nothing for her birthday.

And I didn't, because of simple reason...

And then he turned around and tried to treat me

for my birthday, Your Honor.

Yes, Okay, for the next two weeks. Thank you.

No. We not cool. Why would I say "Happy Birthday"?

You say "Happy Birthday" to people you like.

Well, uh, go ahead and say how you feel, then.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

Yeah.

I wasn't happy, so "Happy Birthday" didn't fit.

Okay, so now, understood this.

So, you both have different story

about what happened in the relationship.

So, let's fast-forward to the birth.

Throughout this pregnancy,

as you prepare for the birth of Giovanni,

was Mr. Lee present?

No. He was telling people I was just getting fat.

(AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS)

He was like, "She just eats a lot of fast food."

Everybody was rubbing...

My friends were rubbing my stomach.

I'm showing ultrasounds to people.

He's like, "Don't believe her. She's just fat."

(AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS)

The entire time. I'm talking about,

"I'm going into labor." He's like, "No, you're not."

JUDGE LAKE: What kind of denial is this?

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

Mr. Lee, you've taken denial too far.

BREWINGTON: Exactly.

This is what it was. She was trying to get back with me,

but I wasn't. So she probably felt like,

"If we have a child, we might work out."

BREWINGTON: As soon as he found out that my son was a boy,

he's like, "Oh, that's my boy. That's my boy.

"I love him. I..." You know, "That's my son. I need to be there"

So, take me to

the day you gave birth to Giovanni.

Was Mr. Lee there?

He came after I had given birth because he had work.

But he showed right up.

He actually didn't even, um...

They asked about the birth certificate and everything.

He signed the birth certificate.

He named my son. He wouldn't even...

He was like, "No, I'm not letting you give me son

"no dumb name. I'm naming him."

I actually told him to... I was like,

"You don't wanna wait until," you know,

"until we do a DNA test."

I offered a DNA test in a hospital.

She did not say that, Your Honor.

LEE: She did not say that.

But you signed the birth certificate, right?

LEE: Yes, I did.

JUDGE LAKE: If you had all this denial,

and you say, "She eating fast food,

"and this isn't even a pregnancy."

But then you get there and execute a birth certificate?

It was the right thing at that moment.

We already had a previous child,

like I said, so...

You just go around signing birth certificates.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

Because Imma be around the child, I might as well.

Kids are not Pokemon.

It's not like I can come there and...

Just because he had one, doesn't mean he needed to

"collect them all."

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

If he didn't think that was his child

he should not have done that.

(AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING)

You said that.

He's our whole love baby.

In my head, it was like, "We already had a previous child."

Imma be in this child's life regardless, because...

You're making a... You're making an execution

of a birth certificate sound like a consolation prize

or a consolation...

LEE: I didn't...

"Well, since I'm gonna do this,

"I might as well."

That's not why you sign a birth certificate.

LEE: I didn't know I couldn't take my name

back off of it. I wasn't aware of that.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

Or else I would have... I wouldn't have signed it.

If I... I was...

So, you weren't aware of the law.

'Cause well... What I'm saying is

it just doesn't make any sense that you had

absolutely no thought that this child could be yours,

and then you walk in and you just say,

"Well, I might as well just sign the birth certificate."

Like you're supersizing your fries or something.

That doesn't make sense.

And then, Ms. Brewington,

it doesn't really make sense to me,

why are you offering him a DNA test

if you are 100% sure?

That was because I was a 100% sure.

He...

If he has any doubts, you know,

I carried the baby, I birthed the baby.

If you have any doubts, go ahead.

I don't mind making you look stupid.

That's why I'm here now.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

Okay, so your point was is,

"I'm tired of hearing the denial...

LEE: We'll see.

"If you want a DNA test, let's take it now,

"because I know you're the father."

BREWINGTON: Exactly.

LEE: Well, Your Honor...

JUDGE LAKE: And then,

when she offered the DNA test,

why didn't you take it?

I figured, when I signed it,

I knew she was gonna put me on child support,

'cause I was already on child support.

Now, with the previous child that we had

I had to do a DNA test at the child support services.

I figured if I sign it,

they're gonna take me right off after I do the DNA test,

We came there,

and then they said, "No, we don't do a DNA test

"'cause you already signed the birth certificate."

JUDGE LAKE: Yes!

He declined.

LEE: That's not the case. They told me right away...

Listen, Mr. Lee. You gotta learn. Making babies

in the country and don't know the laws.

Yeah. I got to.

JUDGE LAKE: But once you sign that birth certificate,

you're the legal father.

LEE: That's what they told me.

JUDGE LAKE: You had done what is called

an acknowledgment of paternity.

Well, I had another...

And another reason I did not think that it was mine is,

one of her friends, a good friend of her,

actually told me

that I wasn't the father.

Really?

LEE: She told me

that she knows who's the father.

My friend told him that

because she wanted to sleep with him.

Excuse me, I was talking.

(AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING)

I'm still talking.

I actually caught them sleeping together.

What!

Oh, so that's why you think

this person was just

telling him these lies...

Because it was shade the whole time.

Because he was sleeping with her.

She knew that if we stop dealing with each other...

'Cause I told her we were working on us.

And she knew that

if we stopped dealing with each other,

then she was free to go

and be with their little

"maybe baby" that they might have.

We never.

JUDGE LAKE: What!

LEE: Your Honor...

What did the friend tell you, Mr. Lee?

She told me that she actually is friends with the dude

who is the father and that

he's trying to get in contact with Brittany.

But she keeps ignoring him

and wants me to be the dad since I'm there already.

But for me, it didn't make a change.

It was just more verification for me.

'Cause it didn't change stuff.

It won't take me off child support.

It won't change the situation with the child.

Your Honor, his whole life

It's only more information I could use.

...has been about getting off of child support.

Honestly. That's what he talks

Yes.

about all day long.

LEE: Definitely.

If he thought, "Oh, it was a chance..."

'Cause I bought home DNA test as well.

He told me he didn't trust me to swab his mouth.

No.

BREWINGTON: He didn't trust me

to put the correct DNA into the box.

LEE: No, it's a home test. Who does that?

And she told me herself I wasn't the father, so...

I told him that in anger, Your Honor.

Multiple times.

So, you know when you ring that bell,

you can't un-ring it.

That is a statement you can't take back.

BREWINGTON: But he looks exactly like him.

And then yes, I say and then if he ever tries to run with it

I'm like, "Okay, let's go ahead and get a D..."

That's there baby... That's his baby picture. Look!

Look at that.

So...

So, you're saying, this is a picture of Giovanni

on the left. Oh, he is adorable.

BREWINGTON: And that's Jerell.

JUDGE LAKE: And this is Mr. Lee as a child on the right.

BREWINGTON: Yes.

And you say, you see

a definite resemblance,

BREWINGTON: Between them two, yeah.

The light skin.

When you look at this beautiful young boy,

you really don't believe he's yours,

now that he's in the world.

No, I don't really see too much of me.

Maybe, like I said, we light skin,

we've got curls, but...

Other than that...

It could be anybody.

They got the same hairline, nose.

And so... After you signed the birth certificate,

do you then go forward

being a father to Giovanni?

Like, do you step up for him?

Yes, Your Honor.

JUDGE LAKE: You're obviously

responsible, as it relates to child support,

because you signed the birth certificate.

LEE: I'm always there.

I've never not been there.

JUDGE LAKE: You're the man he knows to be

his Dad.

Yes.

He calls me Daddy.

JUDGE LAKE: He calls you Daddy.

AUDIENCE: Aww!

JUDGE LAKE: With all of that,

LEE: Yes.

JUDGE LAKE: You still don't believe

he's your biological son.

LEE: No.

Your Honor, that is his baby.

And I can't wait. I can't wait.

'Cause the devil was a liar and this is Lucifer. So, stop.

(AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING)

BREWINGTON: No, I'm not. Uh-uh.

Well, you might be the devil then.

BREWINGTON: Uh-uh.

We'll see.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

You all are a lot.

(ALL LAUGH)

JUDGE LAKE: And you're talking

about him like a dog, Ms. Brewington.

You know you love that man.

(AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING)

It's so obvious.

I don't know why we in here.

(AUDIENCE CLAPPING)

You good, though. You got all the sayings

and you got all the snap.

BREWINGTON: I'm just...

And all you gotta do is snap back.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

No, no, no.

JUDGE LAKE: Right back over there

No, Your Honor, I don't want that.

'Cause you love that man.

Ms. Brewington, I can see the passion in you.

And even though you're making jokes and he's Lucifer,

this isn't easy.

No mother wants to have a son,

three years old, a beautiful baby like that,

and consistently have the man you believe to be his father

deny him, have to deal with all of this drama.

Deny him.

I knew, I knew,

She turned the ship around.

JUDGE LAKE: I knew behind...

All of the laughter and all of the...

BREWINGTON: It's not right. It's not right.

That you put me through this.

Lie.

It's not at all... I really do care about you.

If you don't want that, you should keep your legs closed. That's all there is.

(AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING)

Then, that means she wouldn't be having sex with you either,

LEE: Well, then she...

Hold on. Hold on.

Hold on. Hold on, Mr. Lee.

Before you condemn,

you also have to

understand the part you had to play.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.

Because Giovanni is three.

He calls you Daddy.

LEE: Mm-hmm.

JUDGE LAKE: I could only imagine

if his soul and spirit could truly process the fact

that the man that I look at and I say, "Daddy!"

when I come running up...

LEE: Right.

...is standing in a courtroom right now

clowning my mother

but also denying me.

Denying him.

And see, we have to think about that.

(SNIFFLES)

Not always jokes

and I always say that we don't clown in here because

we not running a circus.

LEE: Right.

This really is a courtroom

where we try to understand

(SNIFFLES)

JUDGE LAKE: whether or not someone is a child's father

because that is important information.

I just had to say that because Giovanni deserves to know.

AUDIENCE: Mm-hmm.

And when it comes to his life,

and his paternity,

he deserves there to be

a level of respect, decorum

surrounding this result

because whether it goes either way,

this child

still

has to live with it.

Let's go to the result. Jerome.

(AUDIENCE CLAPPING)

These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics.

And they read as follows.

In the case of

Brewington v. Lee,

when it comes to

three-year-old

Giovanni Lee...

It has been determined by this court,

Mr. Lee,

you

are not the father.

(AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING)

Told you.

Hold on. (CHUCKLES)

LEE: I told you.

Don't look at me like that. I don't know God's plans.

LEE: Who else?

Did you just inject God in this?

(AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING)

(STAMMERING) I did not put him in this.

I... I'm just saying.

No, I'm just... No, hold on. Hold on.

LEE: Hmm.

Now the plan of Giovanni being on this earth might be God's.

But the lie you told about his paternity is your own.

(AUDIENCE CLAPPING)

JUDGE LAKE: So, lets just... Let's not...

Let's just own it.

'Cause you don't call this man everything but a child of God.

(BRITTANY SNIFFLES)

Hmm.

Damn, I put you through a lot.

It's all good.

JUDGE LAKE: This is three years.

(EXHALES)

JUDGE LAKE: This is three years.

I am so sorry.

LEE: Mm-hmm.

JUDGE LAKE: I have to ask you.

Do you know

who...

(BRITTANY SNIFFLES)

his biological father is?

I have an idea.

JUDGE LAKE: You just have an idea.

I have an idea.

I want you to bring him to this courtroom.

And I want you

to submit to this DNA testing again.

And I want you to commit yourself

to getting this answer for your child.

(SIGHS) Yes, Your Honor, I'm fine with that.

One reason why this courtroom is so important

is because

it meets people where they are

and then it takes them where they need to go.

Because it takes you into the truth.

That's all I deliver. All day's truth.

And I'm gonna... I'm gonna be honest, Ms. Brewington,

this was not the news you probably expected or wanted,

but it's the news you needed.

Because you're not here on this earth to be a liar.

You're not here on this earth to live in denial.

Because that cuts off

the possibilities for your life.

Now you're living in the truth.

I want you to use

all of your strength and your energy and your goodwill

to help your child identify who his biological father is.

And we are here to help you, do you understand?

Yes.

We have counseling and resources for you.

I want you to go talk to Dr. Jeff,

and work through this.

And I will see you back in this courtroom.

Court is adjourned.