On this day in 1989, Judge Judy shocked TV viewers by ordering Tom Jones to pay child support in a headline-making paternity suit—he smirked walking into court, but turned pale when a handwritten letter from the mother was read live on-air—but it was what Tom did to the courtroom mic after the verdict that sent the entire studio into chaos and forced producers to cut the broadcast.
On this day (July 14) in 1989, singer Tom Jones was in Manhattan Family Court fighting a paternity case involving a two-year-old boy he fathered with Katherine Berkery. After a paternity test proved that Jones was the father, Judge Judith Sheindlin ordered the singer to pay Berkery child support.
According to FindLaw, Jones had a one-night stand with Berkery, a model more than 20 years his junior, in a Manhattan hotel. She gave birth to their son, Jonathan Jones Berkery, ten months later. He was 14 months old when Jones stood in front of the future TV star.
A paternity test proved that Jones was the child’s father. As a result, he agreed to settle the suit with Berkery. He agreed to pay her $33,500 a year in monthly installments. Additionally, Jones agreed to lump sum payments of $37,433 for expenses and $59,000 to cover her attorney’s fees. He also agreed to provide health insurance for their child and pay for a private education, “including tuition not less than that charged by the most expensive Ivy League school.”
The couple and their respective legal teams struck the deal independently. However, they still had to take it to family court to get the approval of a judge and, by extension, the New York state court. Judge Sheindlin approved the agreement, and it would stand until they modified it in 1992.
Tom Jones Has No Relationship with His Son
Tom Jones paid child support to Jonathan Jones Berkery for years. However, the two never met. The singer has reportedly said he has no desire to form a bond with the child he fathered during the one-night stand.
Jones’ estranged son, an aspiring singer who goes by Jon Jones, spoke to The Daily Mail about what he wanted from his famous father in a 2016 interview. At the time, the younger Jones spent his nights sleeping on the floor of what the publication called a “homeless hostel” in New Jersey. However, he said he wasn’t interested in his biological father’s money.
“I’d like to talk to him about normal stuff,” Jones said of his father. “Like, ‘How’s your life been? This is mine.’ I want to see him before it’s too late,” he continued.
