Good day, everyone. Ms. Myers, you have
brought your mother,
Ms. Madrigal, to court today because you claim
she has no idea who
your biological father is. You say your mother
gave you a list of
13 possible men, and you are hoping
to determine who
your father is today. The court has located two of
the 13 men and has already
ordered paternity tests to be administered. Ms. Madrigal, you admit
to having a laundry list
of potential fathers, but hope today
answers your daughter's
lifelong question. Now, Ms. Myers,
what were the circumstances that started your search
for your biological father? When I was 13 years old,
I had a father figure
in my life, and he died at that age. And, you know,
when he died
I needed closure. I needed somebody
to be there. LAKE: And so,
at 13 years old,
how did you find out that there were potentially
13 different men that
could be your father? The list came from
my mom telling me over, approximately,
a year, maybe
a little longer... She would always just say,
you know, "Here's a name,
here's a name," you know. And I think, to her,
it seemed like
it was a joke. Okay, Ms. Madrigal,
as you were giving your
daughter this list, and I do not mean this
in a joking way... Right. LAKE: You couldn't
narrow it down from 13? You know, I... The 13 that
she's naming is like
13 ghosts, fabricated! What about
"Pick any man in Seattle?" (LAUGHS) You made that joke. So where does this
"Pick any man in Seattle..." Hold on. Hold on,
'cause any friend that she
met of mine, a guy friend, she'd ask him
were they her father.
Really? Are you serious? Yeah, yeah... So my thing is this,
when she'll say, "Oh, is he my dad?"
I'll say, "I don't know.
Could be anybody in Seattle." Since she thinks
that's what it is,
absolutely. It could be
this guy right here. Yeah, really. MONICA: See? See? Ms. Myers,
in your statement,
you say that your life
without a father has been
extremely difficult. Mmm-hmm. Please explain. I feel lost, you know.
I feel confused,
I don't know who I am. I don't know my heritage.
I don't know what
I'm completely mixed with. I don't know
where I came from.
I don't know nothing. You came from me.
Does it matter? I know your
half of the family, but that's
only half the story. Nobody else matters. That's only
half of the story. Ain't no man
raise me better
than you can, even though it doesn't
even matter, so save it. You raised me? You raised me?
No, you didn't! Oh, I raised you! You weren't even there,
so anyway... Monica, stop it. Stop it. Ms. Myers, you claim
that you left home when
you were 15 years old. Yeah, I did. Why is that? I didn't want to be
around her. You didn't get along to
this degree even when
you were 15 years old? Worse than this.
It's even worse than this. The only reason
why I am somewhat
civil with her is because I have an ex
that used to preach to me
all the time about having to be
close to my mom. SAMANTHA: Right. And I wanted to be
right with God, so therefore... For God. SAMANTHA:
(SCOFFS) Right. God. She won't even... That's a good one.
Use God! You damned devil.
Use God! (AUDIENCE GASP) I'm the devil?
You're the devil! LAKE: Ms. Madrigal! You're the devil! Do you realize that
you just stood
in this court and called your
daughter a devil? Basically. LAKE: You can't mean that. 'Cause all this
is unnecessary. It really is. All this is, is for her to
find out what she wants
to know. That's what matters. All the rest of this,
knocking me, making me out to be some
kind of tramp and all that,
it needs to stop. Do you feel like,
all your life,
the way it has turned out, the situation you
find yourself in, your relationship
with your mother... Is this all because you
didn't have that father
in your life that you wanted or that you didn't know
who your father is? That's how I feel. I feel like I didn't have
a mother, and I felt like
I didn't have a father. You got to understand.
I didn't have to have you.
I chose to have you. Oh, whore! (AUDIENCE GASP) You chose...
She chose to have me! And now, that takes us
back to determining
who your father is. SAMANTHA:
That's right. (LAUGHS) LAKE: Because, in this
dance we at least know
it does take two to tango. Yeah. Mmm-hmm. So, Ms. Madrigal,
you do admit that there
were multiple partners at the time that
Ms. Myers was conceived? Of course, but you
got to realize I was 17. Mmm-hmm. So, any calculation
within that time, I could've
been way off and not known because by the time
I found out, I was four months
pregnant with her. You see what I'm saying?
So there could be
a list of whomever. SAMANTHA: It's the timing.
It's in the timing. Now she admits to the list. The list that is also
missing out of my diary. Really, Monica?
The list that
you fabricated? The 13 ghosts
you got in the book? Yeah, where is it at?
It's gone! Who ripped it out? Ask your brother! Ms. Myers,
what is that diary
you're holding up? That's my diary that
I've had since I was
13 years old. That's where
I started my list.
It's in that. And all of a sudden,
my pages are missing? SAMANTHA: Hold on. She had to bring
it out here. Okay, we've got to figure out
whether two of the men that
the court has identified is, in fact, Ms. Myers' father. Your statement to the court
says that you've met
the two out of the 13 that the court has
administered tests to. Mr. Keith McCraney
and a Mr. Derrick Smith. (CHUCKLES) Mmm-hmm. LAKE: You smiled... Mmm-hmm. ...at one or both
of those names? It's an evil smile
and a happy smile. An evil smile
and a happy smile? Well, who's
the evil smile for? Keith. Keith? Mmm-hmm. So I take it,
we don't care for him. I don't like him.
I hate him with
a passion. (AUDIENCE REACT) Wow! Why do you
feel that way? He's just
inappropriate with me. When I'm at the airport,
he's talking about
how sexy I am. SAMANTHA: But you are.
You're beautiful, so I mean... What's that,
maybe a compliment? A compliment?
"Ooh, girl, you are
so sexy!" What the hell! He meant that as,
"Look how pretty you are."
Save that. Don't do that. I'll tell you what.
We're going to
meet Mr. McCraney, so please, come to
the witness stand here
and sit with me. And Jerome,
if you could please
step out... The seat up there. ...and get the witness
for me, Mr. Keith McCraney and his daughter,
Karmen. (CHUCKLES) Oh, great. Wow! I cannot believe
what I just heard.
Like, for real? Mr. McCraney,
um, thank you for
coming to join us and submitting to
the paternity testing. I wanna ask you first,
you do know Ms. Myers'
mom, Ms. Madrigal? Yes, I do. LAKE: Please state
how you met her. You know,
we got together,
she came over. She told me she thought
I was sexy, whatever,
good-looking. Okay, we had sex. It was
a three-minute thing. (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) Three minutes. Look, she confirmed it. LAKE: You swore
to tell the truth. And nothing
but the truth. LAKE: Okay. (LAUGHTER) So, how did you
find out that Ms. Madrigal
was pregnant? I did not know she was
pregnant, Your Honor. I'm walking downtown,
Seattle, where we live. I see her and the baby
at the fountain, and I say,
"Oh, cute baby.
Who is she?" She said,
"My daughter!" (GIGGLES) And you giggled? Yes. Why? I couldn't believe it,
you know? Three minutes. I understand it doesn't
take that, but... So you knew that it was
your three minutes of fame
that had gotten her there? Well, Your Honor,
I also found out... I also found out,
Your Honor, that when
she left my house, she went to
another man's house and the same thing
happened the same day. Sure did. Sure did.
That was the plan
in the first place. KEITH: The same day! This wasn't planned.
Keith and I weren't planned.
That's what I'm saying. My friend... Your Honor,
her and the same friend that was at my house,
was at his house. SAMANTHA: Right. That's how I know
it was the same day. Right. Right. LAKE: Okay! So, when is the first time
you remember meeting
Mr. McCraney? I was 13, and I was
going into 14. Now, your mother,
Ms. Madrigal, stated
that you spent the weekend at one of his
girlfriend's house. Yes, I stayed the night
over with him and his
girlfriend, and her kids. Come to find out that
one of her kids was his child. But then, she was in question
at the time and they had
to be tested years later. I'll never forget.
I told my mom,
"You've got to be kidding me." I said,
"Mom, this ugly...
is my dad?" LAKE:
Now wait a minute! First of all, you may not
watch your language
around your mother, but you got to watch your
language in this court. Now, that's inappropriate
and disrespectful. Mr. McCraney,
your daughter is here, and Ms. Vernon,
you have held on
like I've asked you to, but I want to
understand from you why you feel so strongly
about Ms. Myers. Okay, well, as far as
Monica is concerned, she's talking about,
oh, he's this and he's that. Well, if that's the case,
then how come you got
his picture on Facebook with you and your mom
talking about, "Oh, yeah.
Well, is this person my dad?"
and blah, blah, blah. I did that 'cause I wanted
people to see... Exactly. If he's such a bad guy...
But if he's such a bad guy, then why would you even
put him on Facebook and say, "Oh, yeah.
Well, is he my dad?" Because I don't want
to expose him
of what he really is. But you did expose him. And what is that? But you did expose him
on Facebook to strangers. I'm a good father. You're a good father?
You aren't even
in Karmen's life! Let's get to the facts. Mmm-hmm. MONICA: I don't want
nothing to do with him,
his family, her. She that started
all these problems, where her family got there,
got her cousins,
trying to fight me. They did. They did.
They've all treated her bad and you admit
they did, Keith. They did. Yes, yes. SAMANTHA: Nobody want
to claim her, but claim
all your other possible kids. KARMEN: Mmm-mm. I know you are
upset with her... KARMEN: Mmm-hmm. ...for what she maybe
posted on Facebook
about your father. Because, like I told her,
when I talked to her, I was like, "That's just
ratchetness. That is just
some scandalous stuff." That's ratchet? Yes, it's ratchet! I'm ratched
because I was made
(STUTTERS) of these two? (ARGUING INDISTINCTLY) Order!
Let's get it together. These guys,
everybody's attacking me like I'm the one
that was laying down,
sleeping with people. I'm the one that
was made, okay? LAKE: Ms. Myers,
I understand... I'm the one that was made. Ms. Myers... Ms. Myers,
look at me. Look at me. I understand
you're hurt. There's not a person
sitting in here today that could imagine
being in your position. Tell me what you feel. No! SAMANTHA:
I don't know
why you're crying. MONICA: Because I shouldn't
have to go through this. I'm 26 years old,
with my own kids. It doesn't matter,
because I'm your mama
and I'm your daddy, and that's what I've been. No, you're not my daddy,
you ain't my mama! You ain't been
my mama or my daddy! So I'm not hearing it. You can tell these people
what you want. They don't live
in my shoes. I raised you,
and I raised you right. So all this
doesn't even matter. No, you didn't. I would die for you,
so stop the rest! (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) LAKE: Ms. Madrigal,
you're very emotional
as well. Well, I'm not
going to let nobody... First of all,
don't attack my child, and I know you guys
don't mean it. You guys are upset, too.
It's my child! We realize now that
Mr. McCraney is
not the man that you would like to be
your father, ultimately. No. We do have another gentleman
here that has also submitted
to the paternity testing, and at this time,
the court would like to
hear from him. Jerome, if you could
please escort
Mr. Derrick Smith in. And Mr. McCraney
and Ms. Vernon, feel free
to have a seat. Thank you. KEITH: Thank you. Derrick. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Mr. Smith,
how are you today? I'm doing pretty good, Judge. Thank you for joining us. We're really glad that
you could be here today, and we appreciate
you submitting to
the DNA testing, um, because this court
realizes that you are
one of two men here today that we've identified
that could potentially be
Ms. Myers' father. And, um, you do know
that there still
could potentially be 11 more per
Ms. Myers' statement. Yes, I do. And now, how did you
come to meet or have a relationship
with Ms. Madrigal? Uh, around the age
19 to 20, we had
a brief encounter of sex, and then one day,
I'd seen Samantha,
and she gave me a baby picture and told me that,
"You're possibly
the father of this child." And then I did not
see her for quite
a long time after that. (SNICKERS) No! One day, I was
coming out of a building and Samantha drove up
with Monica in the backseat and said,
"There's your dad,
right there." SAMANTHA: No, that...
First of all...
First of all... I didn't walk up to you
with a picture. You seen her and asked me,
was that your child
'cause of her eyes. You did that.
Don't do that. You couldn't even
remember where it happened.
That's what's so funny. That's because
it was so brief, and you were
so fast, you know. Yeah, whatever... AUDIENCE: Oh! You were all over the place,
Samantha, and you know it. Was I? That's why there are,
what, 13, maybe 20? Or it was because
you were DJ Quick,
my friend. You couldn't keep it.
That's your problem. Yeah. Okay. No, you were
just too slutty, that's why. Let's bring
the conversation
back to... Let's bring
the conversation back to
the issue at hand, which is Ms. Myers. When you came in,
you hugged. DERRICK: Yeah. Tell me
a little bit about that. How have you developed
the relationship? Well, I talk to her
on the phone a lot, and I even helped her
move into her new home. And I've met
her children. We've had a good relationship.
He's been everything
that I wanted as a father. LAKE: You do feel
it's a possibility that
you could be the father. I do. I mean,
I think we look
a lot alike. LAKE: Do you see
the resemblance?
Do you see it? MONICA:<i> I see it right here,
standing next to me
right here.</i> DERRICK:<i> Well, we both
have big foreheads, kind of...</i> (MONICA LAUGHS) DERRICK:<i> Hmm.</i> LAKE:<i> You know,
I think we've heard enough,
ladies and gentlemen.</i> Uh, it's time to
find out the results. It is. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Remember, there have been
two men that have been tested, and we have
11 others in question. But, it very well may be that
one of these two gentlemen
could be your father. So, Jerome,
would you please
hand me the envelope? The first one. So this is to see if
Mr. Derrick Smith is, in fact,
the father of Ms. Myers. I know you're hoping
that he, in fact, is. The DNA test results
show that Mr. Smith, you are not
Monica's father. I never thought
I'd have to hear that.
I still love you, though. DERRICK: It's okay. MONICA: I promise that. I'll still be
there for you. (MUFFLED SPEECH) Whatever you need,
I'll be there for you. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) I still love you.
For real. How do you feel,
Ms. Myers? Scared. Terrified right now,
'cause it cannot be him. Mr. Smith,
if you could take a seat,
and Mr. McCraney, please step to
the podium. Thank you. Jerome, please hand me
the second envelope. (MONICA SIGHS) LAKE: Thank you. (OPENING ENVELOPE) (PAPERS RUSTLING) When it comes to
Ms. Monica Myers, Mr. Keith McCraney,
it has been determined
by this court that... You... Are the father. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) There it is. LAKE: Did you faint,
Mr. McCraney? I... What? Whoa! I... KARMEN: They must have
got the test mixed up
or something. LAKE: You are the father. KARMEN: There is no way. They must have
gotten their test
mixed up or something. KEITH: Whoa! I... KARMEN: I don't
believe that at all. LAKE: Thank you for
coming back in, Ms. Myers. I know you're upset. I hate him, I hate his
family, man. SAMANTHA: Hold on. Hold on. Can I say something?
Can I, please? Monica, regardless to
whatever Keith has been
through in 26 years, Keith wasn't always
going through what
he's going through. You think I'd just
jump in there with anybody...
or something? Come on. Keith was one of the finest
people in Bellevue. I don't care. Their family has
rejected me so much that there is
no rekindling what they... The pain they've
caused for me. SAMANTHA: That's true. I don't deserve
none of this. I didn't deserve
it from the jump. I recognize that
you have been a victim. I had to do all of this
by myself. But it is your choice as to whether
you continue to be one. Now, you came here
for an answer. (APPLAUSE) It wasn't the answer
you wanted, but you got
the answer. And from the way it looks
from my vantage point, you've got four people
in your life right now that have said to you,
"Our hearts and our doors
are still open for this girl." Still... They were never open. LAKE: Are still open. But they are now. For real? What did you say
to me at the airport? Hey, sexy... What else? What else? Yeah, I said that.
That's it. What else? KARMEN: He says
the same thing to me. Okay, go ahead. Well, Ms. Myers,
he might not have meant a sexual undertone
or energy behind that word. He might have just meant
to say, "You look
beautiful today." And that's something you got
to learn as a man, now that
you are a father of girls. Yes. And you've
got to fix that. I'm gonna try. You've got to find out
what's appropriate
and inappropriate, and you've got to take heed.
Are you understanding me? Yes, I do. All right. Now, going forward,
it's up to you all
to clean this up. Take care.
I'll be checking on you. Court is adjourned. And I hope that
any other kids that are
going through this, any adults that are
afraid to come out
and tell their story, I hope all of you guys
come and get closure for you so you don't have to
feel how I feel. I don't think
no child deserves this.
