Michael Talbert, Judge Eboni K. Williams, Gregory Talbert – Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams YouTube Screenshots
A Christian father who appeared on a court TV show sued his 18-year-old son for $6,000, claiming he was owed reimbursement after the teen failed to complete a summer conversion therapy program his parents had enrolled him in.
The dispute played out on a recently recirculated episode of Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams, which debuted in 2023. It’s unclear when the episode originally aired, but it was uploaded to YouTube on March 26, 2026.
As noted by LGBTQ Nation, courtroom television shows are not actual courts and don’t have to follow the same rules. Equal Justice bills itself as a “small claims court arbitration” show, meaning a neutral third party — in this case, Williams — hears both sides of a dispute and issues a decision that may be binding if the parties agree in advance to accept it. Arbitration is not the same as civil litigation.
In the arbitration, Williams heard from Gregory Talbert, a married Christian father from the Memphis area, who sought to recover money he spent on a conversion therapy program for his son, Michael.
Gregory Talbert told Williams that the previous year, when Michael was still 17, he caught his son kissing another boy — an act he said conflicted with the family’s Christian beliefs opposing homosexuality. Talbert allegedly threatened to kick his son out if he didn’t stop being gay, and showed Williams text messages to that effect.
Michael apologized and promised to “do whatever you need me to do,” to which Gregory reportedly responded, “Let’s fix this.”
Several days later, Michael found a religious conversion therapy program and told his father about it. The summer program was set to last three months, requiring weekday attendance from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. He allegedly asked whether he would be allowed to remain in his parents’ home if he enrolled.
Gregory Talbert told Williams he agreed to pay for the program because he wanted to ensure his son would be straight, in line with his vision of carrying on the family name and living a devout Christian life.
“I like the director’s philosophy of how no one is born homosexual,” Gregory wrote in a text message to his son. “It’s behavioral and it can be fixed.”
“I’m scared to go but I don’t want to lose you and mom,” Michael responded. “I will go.”
A month into the program, Michael wanted to leave. He said he was repeatedly subjected to verbal harassment and emotional abuse, alleging the program director told him he was “cursed” and going to hell, and told participants they were “monsters” who needed the program to “fix” them.
He texted his father asking if he could leave, but Gregory refused.
“Son, it was your idea to go to this program,” Talbert said in text messages. “You need to finish what you started. I spent $6,000. Money doesn’t grow on trees. How am I going to teach you how to be a man if you don’t keep your promises? Just follow the rules and you’ll be cured in two more months.”
“I felt like you valued the money over your son,” Michael told Gregory after Williams directed him to address his father directly.
Michael eventually quit the program after taking “sick days” to skip therapy and spend time with the friend he had previously kissed, prompting his father to tell him to “pack [his] things and move out” and repay the $6,000 enrollment fee.
It remains unclear how Michael’s mother responded.
Gregory Talbert said he was seeking reimbursement of the $6,000 cost of the program. But Michael told Williams he had been coerced into entering it, motivated by fears his family would kick him out.
Williams ultimately dismissed the father’s demand for reimbursement, citing the alleged coercion and suggesting he had emotionally manipulated his son.
In an emotional moment, Williams took Michael aside and told him, “Young man, you are not cursed. You are as loved and as worthy, Michael, as your father, your mother, and everyone else who gets the privilege to reside on this earth, young man.
“And I don’t care what your daddy says,” Williams continued. “I don’t care what some stupid conversion therapy says, which is nothing but a bunch of hoopla and a scam and a money grab for young, vulnerable men like yourself. I see you. You are valuable. And Michael, you are perfect. You are perfect in the eyes of God.”
Republican lawmakers in Tennessee are pushing a bill that critics warn could effectively create a registry of transgender residents, raising fears it could be used to surveil or harass them.
House Bill 754, sponsored by State Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) and Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis), would require all gender clinics in Tennessee to report monthly health data on patients who have received transition-related care to the Department of Health. The department would then publish aggregated annual reports.
Boston University's president is apologizing for a now-rescinded policy that prohibited Pride flags and pro-LGBTQ signs in windows and other publicly visible spaces on campus.
In the weeks since spring break ended on March 15, students and staff have protested the removal of Pride flags and pro-LGBTQ signs, including those displayed in individual professors' offices, to comply with the university's policy opposing displays that are not "content-neutral," as Metro Weekly previously reported.
The university has denied singling out symbols of LGBTQ identity.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed five anti-LGBTQ bills passed by the state’s Republican-led legislature.
The bills would have barred transgender athletes assigned male at birth from competing on female-designated sports teams in both K-12 schools and colleges; required school boards to adopt policies forcing teachers to out transgender students to their parents and obtain permission before allowing changes to names or pronouns; prohibited minors from accessing gender-affirming care; and allowed people who experience "regret" after such care to sue providers until age 33.
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