Key Takeaways
- Carl Thomas performed the gospel standard “I Need Thee Every Hour” during his VERZUZ battle with Case before transitioning into his 2000 song “Come to Me.”
- LaToya Shantel Young, the mother of Thomas’ seven-year-old daughter, called him a “deadbeat” and said, “Please miss me with the church songs,” alleging he has failed to consistently pay court-ordered child support.
- Young shared no court records or amount allegedly owed, while Thomas’ Oct. 22 VERZUZ appearance renewed attention around hits including “Summer Rain,” “Emotional,” and “I Wish.”
Carl Thomas took VERZUZ to church, but his daughter’s mother wasn’t moved. Just days after the R&B veteran delivered a gospel-flavored performance during his matchup with Case, Latoya Shantel Young hit Instagram with a much different review, accusing Thomas of being a “deadbeat” father who has failed to support their seven-year-old daughter.
“I’m so tired of seeing this deadbeat Carl Thomas come down my motherf*cking timeline,” Young said in a Reel. “Let’s just hop right out the window with that.”
Young’s frustration centered on Thomas’ rendition of “I Need Thee Every Hour,” which he performed before sliding into his 2000 track “Come to Me.” Backed by a piano, Thomas explained that his church upbringing and the music of gospel composer Thomas A. Dorsey helped inspire the song.
The moment became one of the night’s biggest talking points—but Young said the spiritual display did not match the man she knows. “Please miss me with the ‘I love Jesus’ sh*t,” she said. “Please miss me with the church songs when your ass don’t even pay your f*cking child support.”
Young claimed Thomas took her to court to establish whether he was the father, then requested that child support be handled through the state. According to her, that process confirmed his paternity and created a formal support obligation, but she alleges he still has not consistently provided for their daughter. “You promised me you was gonna do right by your daughter,” Young said. “She is now seven years old. You have yet to do anything for your f*cking daughter.”
She added that she never initiated the child-support case herself, alleging Thomas started the process and later failed to make good on it. The Reel did not include court records or specify how much money she says is owed.
The blast arrived as Thomas enjoyed renewed attention from his Oct. 22 VERZUZ showdown with Case at Apple Music Studios in Los Angeles. The two singers ran through the heartbreak records that helped soundtrack turn-of-the-century R&B, including Thomas’ “Summer Rain,” “Emotional,” and “I Wish,” alongside Case staples such as “Happily Ever After,” “Touch Me, Tease Me,” and “Missing You.”
Thomas’ platinum-selling debut, Emotional, arrived in 2000 on Bad Boy and made him one of the era’s most recognizable voices.
Young’s complaints are not new. During a 2023 appearance with Kendra G, she said she first met Thomas while interviewing him for her show, Free Nation: Word on the Street.
She maintained that they were friends for six or seven years before one encounter resulted in their daughter’s conception.
Young also pushed back on Tasha K’s characterization of her as Thomas’ “homeless baby moms,” explaining that she owned a salon for 16 years and had television work when she met him.
She acknowledged experiencing housing insecurity years later after relocating to Atlanta but said that chapter had been presented without the proper timeline.
