Tonight on 20/20 ` she's a celebrity psychic. I just channel what's coming through. Sue Nicholson claims she has a gift. Some people probably do think you're a bit crazy. Some people probably do think you're a bit crazy. Probably. Sometimes I think I am. But, believe or not, there's no denying there's something about Sue. We're selling an evening with a beautiful man. We take a look at the world of male escorts. Sometimes they just need to feel like somebody cares about 'em. Are you worried that you get addicted to it? Are you worried that you get addicted to it? I am addicted. And they're celebrity doctors,... ...ended up on the cable TV programme called Dr 90210. ...but are they putting money before their patients... Don't worry. We make $21 million a month. $1 million is OK. ...who are dying to be thin? MAN: Is she breathing? WOMAN: No. www.tvnz.co.nz/access-services Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2012 Kia ora. I'm Sonya Wilson. Well, they're as polarising as they are popular; offering a future forecast or a connection with the dead,... for a fee, of course. Whether you're a believer or not, psychics pique our interest. And Sue Nicholson is one of this country's most well-known. After years of private practice, she found fame on the show Sensing Murder. Tonight she opens up to 20/20, giving us an insight into her experience of the paranormal. Here's Hannah Ockelford with NZ's celebrity psychic. EERIE MUSIC WOMAN READS: 'Hi, Sue. 'My mum's house has an interesting history of mishap and misfortune to those that have lived here. 'Since she has passed, there has been a lot of tension and stress. 'The most troubling have been a spirit or spirits paralysing me while I sleep.' Hello. Hello. < Hi. Hello. < Hi. Hi. Nice to see you. On a cold winter's night in Porirua, psychic powerhouse Sue Nicholson is answering a call for help. You disturb the spirits. You're disturbing them. And so it's kind of, um, activating them to rise up... Laurissa's convinced her family home has some unwelcome guests. It feels like more than one, yeah. It feels like more than one, yeah. There's more than one here, but it's at night time that they all seem to come out and it's like party time. It's causing distur` arguments. I feel like... Bickering. It's causing distur` arguments. I feel like... Bickering. Yeah, we get... angry at each other. You know why? Because this energy; the energies here want you out. BELLS CHIME With Tibetan bells, incense and a belief in divine abilities, Sue's settling in for a supernatural eviction. BELLS CHIME So, I say a prayer. So, I say a prayer. OK. (COUGHS) I'm sorry, but, um, it's that one where I feel like I'm choking. That's the one that's coming in very strongly now. (COUGHS) I feel like he's... My God, that's one as well. There's two of them with you. I just... I can't talk. It's him ` the rope around my neck. He was hung. You're a psychic medium. What, exactly, does that mean? Well, a psychic is, like, hearing, feeling, seeing, and smell as well. And it's like reading the soul? You know, linking into that person's soul. And a medium means the middle person. We ask you now to come into this house... Sue claims she has a gift ` one that allows her to receive messages from angels, guides and the dead. I just channel what's coming through. So, do you know what question I'm gonna ask next? So, do you know what question I'm gonna ask next? No, not really. (LAUGHS) Cos you're the interviewer. (LAUGHS) Cos you're the interviewer. (LAUGHS) You're the psychic. See, people think if you're psychic, you can mind-read. No, it's not about mind-reading. BELLS CHIME It's like... I don't know what this means, but I'm seeing a cabbage. (LAUGHS) She is simply the delivery lady. The voices and visions don't always make sense. I can only think... You need to look that up. He needs all the vitamins that are in cabbage. He needs... ...to take it. OK. > I'm not just walking around, you know, all the time in la-la land; you know, with the spirit` I'm very normal; very down-to-earth. Some people probably do think you're a bit crazy. They probably do. Sometimes I think I am. (CHUCKLES) You know? As I'm working with your energy, I'm just gonna feel your energy here. I can scan someone's body on the computer when they're on Skype and tell them that they've got this or that. And I feel there's so much here, you know, that you're holding in. Have you been busy, darling? Have you been busy, darling? Yeah, we have. We have. When you come to town, it's even busier. While sceptics may scoff, there's high demand for a dose of Sue's cosmic clarity. I mean, we've got a list for you that's gonna spread out to two years if we're not careful. So you gotta come regularly. So you gotta come regularly. Wow. I need to work 24-7. Yeah, you do. Good friend Darlene lets Sue use the back room in her Blenheim shop. They channel information through to me that's from spirit guides, your angels and your loved ones. Clients like Liz often wait months for a reading. It's like they just walk in through the door, just stand... 'OK, right, she's just coming through.' What do you see as your role in people's lives? Straight away, what comes into my head is, like, just like a mentor. Kind of like a counsellor? Kind of like a counsellor? Yeah. Yeah, spiritual counsellor. 'Spiritual, intuitive guidance counsellor' ` I like that; have to use that one. (CHUCKLES) Should put that on my business cards. I've just got a lot of yellow here, around your head. Not a migraine, but it's a heaviness around my head, like... Not a migraine, but it's a heaviness around my head, like... Frustration, I think. I trust her to... help me out in my head,... (CHUCKLES) I suppose. Is it Patricia? Is it P`? Pam? What is it about the information that she gives you that's worth paying for? CHUCKLES: I really don't know. Um, I suppose I'd do it again, too. To have a reading from somebody like Sue is pretty... pretty out there, really. Truth is there for all to hear. SOFT GUITAR MUSIC Sue says she's been in contact with spirit for most of her life. Ever since I was 4 years old, to me it was very normal. It would be decades before she opened up. I kept it to myself because I knew that it wasn't acceptable. No longer fearful of what other people thought. I wouldn't know what to do without them. They are like my best friends, and they are like having somebody there, you know, that people can't see. For years, she worked quietly tucked away in discreet offices until an opportunity arose to showcase her talents. Two gifted psychics will investigate. Someone's touching my head. That gave me... well, really big exposure. I mean, it was huge. Sensing Murder was huge. And it changed my life co` you know, unbelievable. Why hasn't anything ever been solved? I don't know, really. I mean, you know, the police do a really good job. They have so many cases out there that are recent that they're working on. And they don't have the manpower needed. But surely, if you were able to give them a clue, the police would prioritise it. Probably. I mean, the thing is we don't hear about everything` You would hear about it if the case had been solved, right? You would hear about it if the case had been solved, right? Well, there is something... You've got to watch this space. That's all I can say. There's something out there that I'm not, you know, legally allowed to say about. That aside, to date, the show's delivered no breakthroughs. But that hasn't damaged Sue's brand. This way. Bubbly and colourfully dressed, she's the redhead with sought-after skills. I'm doing my shopping, and they'll say, 'Are you that woman off the telly?' I go, 'Yeah.' They say, 'What's on my shopping list?' And I go, 'I wouldn't have a clue. I don't even know what's on my list,' you know? If you did want to know what was on their list, could you? I suppose I could, if I held the paper. But I think it's a waste of time. It's a waste of energy. I'm not a party trick. So, this is my wardrobe. (CHUCKLES) 'There is a vulnerable side to Sue we don't often see.' Is this your vice? Shopping? Is this your vice? Shopping? Yeah, 'tis my vice. You know, I thought about it the other day. I really got down about it. I got quite depressed about it. I felt like there's a hole there and I just need to fill it with something. I seem to fill it with clothes, handbags, shoes, jewellery... Not being good enough, really. 'Am I good enough to do this job?' Um, the pressure on me. I feel great pressure. And some people say, 'Well, walk away from it.' But I can't explain it; that I can't. I don't know, actually, what I'd do if I walked away from it, because it'd be walking away from myself. That's` That's quite interesting. It'd be walking away from the other half of me. As I'm talking to you, many are coming in. I'm saying, 'Please hold back. There's only one of me. 'I can only hear you one at a time.' Back in Blenheim, it's Gabby's first ever psychic reading. They're telling me about healing, OK? That's good. You're going up a level. But also something to do` about readings and giving people... But also something to do` about readings and giving people... (CHUCKLES KNOWINGLY) Yes. Does that make sense? Does that make sense? I` I've had a bit of a dabble. 'Wow' is all I can` It's truly amazing. The things that she said; the things she came out with were pretty much hitting the nail on the head. He protects your back. He said to me, 'Do you understand this?' He protects your back. He said to me, 'Do you understand this?' I've just had spinal surgery. Oh, you've just had spinal surgery? Good. OK. Because he said he protects your back. I understand that now. I've never met you before or anything like that. She picked up on that I had had back surgery. I never mentioned anything about having a sore back. Do you think you fed her any information? No. I was just saying 'yes', 'no', um... And if I agreed with something, then I fed her a bit more information. But, no, she pretty much nailed it, to be honest. She truly did. < Are you doing any harm? I don't think so. I don't think I'm hurting anyone ` um, not intentionally. I look at it that I'm helping people. Otherwise I wouldn't be here; I wouldn't have hundreds of people wanting to see me. Amongst them, Laurissa. Sue is making progress on the spirits she says are wearing her down. Things happen for a reason, and these... You know, me being here today is not coincidence. It's had to be this way. If not,... It's had to be this way. If not,... Yes. ...I just see you going in a hole. Do you understand rock bottom? This needs to be cleared in here. I just feel really spacey. < Is that, like, a portal? < Is that, like, a portal? It's like a doorway. < Is that, like, a portal? It's like a doorway. < Yeah. Oh my God. I honestly` You know what it was like? It was like a 3-D... I felt like that's where they've been coming from. I felt like that's where they've been coming from. They have. It's a doorway or portal. BELLS CHIME We're gonna have to put... put a protection here. While excising evil, Sue's made a comforting discovery ` the presence of Laurissa's mum. It's like she's sitting with you. She actually sits in that chair. It's like she's sitting with you. She actually sits in that chair. ...chair. It's all right. It's all right. (SOBS) She sits in the chair with you, OK? And she wants you to know that she's still with you. She wants you to remember her when she was healthy. Do you understand? She wants you to remember her when she was healthy. Do you understand? ...healthy. Yeah. Sue's visit left Laurissa with a sense of peace. Come in. Mind the door. Now, you've put the DVD in, haven't ya? You've got to press play. There you go. At home, Sue escapes the constant demands for psychic awakening. That's it. Hold the ball... Go. Boom. In fact, at Sue's place, big kids can indulge on every floor. God, you got a strike! Yeah. You didn't predict that, did you? Yeah. You didn't predict that, did you? BOTH CHUCKLE It's light relief from the business of believing. BOTH: Ooh. Someone wrote to me once ` they'll give me so many thousand to find a needle in a field. It's a waste of time. I don't have to be tested. I've been tested all my life. I don't have to prove anything to anyone. Why wouldn't you consider doing it, just to silence those critics for good? I suppose I could. But I just` I honestly can't be bothered, you know? I really can't be bothered. I mean, I look at it like this. You've got all that money to try and prove that people like me are fakes; why don't you go and give it to a charity? But you could give it to charity. I could give it to a charity, yeah. Well, I might look at that, you know. BOTH LAUGH I'd say the majority of people out there are good, OK? But there are people out there that can be really really nasty, you know? Horrible. And so... I mean, I'm still human. I get upset. But I don't let it get to me any more. What would you say to your biggest sceptic? I don't hold any grudges against them, you know? Because I just... They can't help the way they feel, and that's OK. I respect them and their opinion about me, and I hope they respect me. Well, I think that's the problem. I don't think they do respect you. Well, I think that's the problem. I don't think they do respect you. I still love them, though. (LAUGHS) Sue's reality certainly isn't for everyone. But to her clients, she's magical. UPLIFTING MUSIC BOTH LAUGH I` I just found her a truly amazing person. I really did. She's genuine. She's got a heart of gold. If anybody wants to go and see her, it's definitely worth it. OK, next up on 20/20, we meet the women paying top dollar for a date. Saturday night may be date night again, but there's a catch. Guy, the one with the chiselled body and the model good looks, is a gigolo ` a paid escort; a date for hire. He's a beautiful guy; great genetics. (LAUGHS) Removing tough soap scum just became enjoyable. In fact, inside or outside, Bam does the job, Ugh! VOICEOVER: When you use Easy-Off Bam Grime & Soap Scum on tough stains, the results will wow you. Wow. Removing tough soap scum just became enjoyable. In fact, inside or outside, Bam does the job, so you can take pride in your cleaning. WOMAN: Make cleaning a game for the whole family. Visit: But, believe or not, there's no denying there's something about Sue. O Welcome back. As women acquire more money and power, some are not afraid to admit that they are, in fact, even paying for the man on their arm ` men known, quaintly perhaps, as gigolos. So, are these men taking advantage of lonely women? Or is it just a case of 'what's good for the goose is good for the gander'? SULTRY MUSIC After five years of miserable dating, you could say 49-year-old Theresa Prater has got her groove back. Her two trainers and nearly daily workouts help keep her feeling sexy for the hot 29-year-old she's dating. When you're excited about someone, you're more excited about life. So, this is what I'm wearing tonight. I'm with someone's who's fun. I'm thinking of things to do now. Saturday night may be date night again, but there's a catch ` her guy, the one with the chiselled body and the model good looks, he's a gigolo, a paid escort, a date for hire. I mean, he's a beautiful guy, great genetics... (CHUCKLES) I'm very proud to be called a gigolo. He's Nick Hawk, one of the stars of Gigolos ` Showtime's steamy reality series where men make women's sexual fantasies come true... for a price. For Theresa, it was lust at first sight. When you see someone on TV, you see how they walk, they talk. You get to see... a little bit about them. You get to see a lot about them on that show. There you go. Right there, right there. Theresa is an example of the surprising type of newly empowered woman who's not afraid to admit that she's paying for the man on her arm and in her bed. It's marketed as the ultimate boyfriend experience. He opens the car door, he holds my hand when we walk across the street. He's Prince Charming... He's Prince Charming... Yeah. < ...come to life. < ...come to life. Yes. Her dating life wasn't always so edgy. As a young model in Europe, she had her heart broken by an international playboy. She even had a brief failed marriage. but she was lonely, and when her mother died and left her an inheritance, she decided to live life on her own terms. It's empowering to be with a young, beautiful guy of my choice. That makes me feel young, and he's compensated for his time. He's having a good time. So everybody's happy. So far she's had six dates, including three sleepovers. And they don't come cheap. A two-hour rendezvous with Nick ` $650. His weekend rate ` $6000. You know, we're selling a fantasy. We're selling an evening with` with a beautiful man. I have an appointment request for you on Tuesday. Garren James, a former escort himself, represents all the men on the Gigolos show. He opened Cowboys 4 Angels four years ago and says thousands of men have applied to his escort agency, but only 35 have made the cut. When I hire a man, as far as looks are concerned, he needs to turn heads when he walks into a room. Shawn's been known to turn a head or two. I like to use this little Vaseline men's oil` lotion. Make my skin nice and soft. He works largely out of Las Vegas and Los Angeles, where women happily report how at ease he makes them feel. Sometimes they're just lonely. Sometimes they just need to feel like somebody cares about 'em. Sometimes they just have too much money and wanna blow it. There's so many different variables. A lot of people think what they're selling is sex. A lot of people think what they're selling is sex. Our product is companionship. And yet when people think of 'escort service', I don't think they're thinking companionship. And so what makes what you do not illegal? We don't offer sex. We don't have any sexual services listed. In no way whatsoever if somebody called for sex would I ever be able to book an appointment with them. It may not be a service he sells, but it does happen. Is the sex different? Is it better? Is it 'shut up, Juju, go away?' (GIGGLES) It's good. We have a good time. BOTH LAUGH This is a little less formal. Theresa specialises in antique and custom fabrics for the home. She says she makes good money and insists she can afford the gigolos. It's a good thing, because so far she's run up $20,000 in escort fees alone. Does knowing that you're paying for his time, though, ever take the romance out of it? No, because I can afford to do that. It's my choice. In fact, this summer she plans to take Nick to Paris and Morocco. Going abroad with a young boy toy is on her bucket list. That's the room I want. And his fee for the week, not counting expenses, is $17,500. She recently gave Nick these $800 shoes as a tip. They're called Lil Wayne after their favourite rapper. And even young, successful 20-something career women like Amy are booking appointments. She doesn't want to show her face, but she's the last person you'd expect to pay for dates. This is her third outing with a gigolo. Tonight she has two hours with Shawn. How does the next two hours unfold? How does the next two hours unfold? I'm gonna meet Amy and find out her story, what's going on in their life. Amy, how are you doing? Amy, how are you doing? Nice to meet you, Shawn. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. It's a pleasure. The sparks fly as if on cue. So, tell me more about you. I like your eyes. So, tell me more about you. I like your eyes. Aw, thank you. ROMANTIC HARP MUSIC And with the clock ticking,... BOTH LAUGH ...Shawn and Amy decide it's time to lose the cameras and take their party elsewhere. Why choose escorts? Because my focus is my business. I'm not looking for companionship on a long-term basis. What is it? Lust with no strings attached? It's a good time with no strings attached. I don't see the down side. I mean, I guess you're trying to find a down side. Hmm, I don't see it. BOTH LAUGH Remember, I'm not looking to own anybody, I'm not really looking to be married. Women may act with sexual bravado just like men, but they're wired differently, says clinical psychologist Amanda Bates. They're having more financial decision-making power, and they are emulating men's behaviour in more and more ways with some mixed results. It's all harmless fun until what? It's all harmless fun until what? Until sex is involved... for women. It's highly unlikely that a woman is unable to have, for a long period of time, a sexual relationship without an emotional connection or hope that this could turn into something more long term. Are you in love with him? Are you in love with him? I think so. (CHUCKLES) I'll say that, yeah. I was gonna go on one date. I was gonna do it for fun. I didn't think this would continue, really. Are you worried that you'll get addicted to it? Are you worried that you'll get addicted to it? I am addicted. (CHUCKLES) Are you worried about`? Are you worried about`? I'm not addicted. I know what I'm doing. But you just said you were addicted. But you just said you were addicted. I can un-addict myself, but I'm happy right now. (CHUCKLES) That's the best line I've heard in a while ` 'I can un-addict myself.' Anyway,... (CHUCKLES) next up on 20/20, we confront two celebrity doctors selling the fantasy of thin. Just thought it was a normal operation. She was in pain since she left. Did they say anything about lacerating the liver? No. No. Nothing? No. Nothing? Nothing. (SOBS) They told me nothing. Brian Ross from ABC News. I'm wondering if I can just talk to you for a second. We'd like to ask you about what's been happening at your clinics. Sue Nicholson claims she has a gift. O Welcome back. Two brothers made famous by the TV show Dr 90210 have been busy selling their patients the dream of being thin. But has their love for money come at a high price for their patients? Patients who are dying to be thin. Tonight, 20/20 speaks to families who have lost loved ones and confronts the brothers to ask, what's the real cost here? LAID-BACK MUSIC In the high-profit business of weight loss, few doctors have made more money than these two Beverly Hills brothers ` Julian and Michael Omidi. With their business success and celebrity social lives, they ended up on the cable TV programme called 'Dr 90210'. I think we have a very exciting life ` much more exciting than most people. You'll look like Angelina Jolie. At the time, the Omidi brothers said they specialised in plastic surgery. But then the Omidis found something even more lucrative ` 1-800-GET-THIN, a multimillion-dollar weight loss business,... # Let your new life begin. # Call 1-800-GET-THIN. # ...once advertised as an easy one-hour way to lose weight with a procedure to band or constrict the stomach with what's called a lap band. I've tried every diet. The lap band was the easiest thing I've ever done. Thousands of people signed up, including Cassie Gibbons, who lost more than 100 pounds and became the poster girl for 1-800-GET-THIN. I just wanted to get thin. I wanted my new life to begin and I wanted to get thin. With clinics in Beverly Hills and north of Los Angeles, the Omidi brothers have tapped into the desperation of so many people to lose weight. Done right, the lap band procedure is a proven, safe technique. But in the last three years five patients have died after lap band surgery at the brothers' outpatient clinics, including Laura Faitro, whose husband says she was the victim of a substandard clinic with negligent doctors. They're making it seem so easy. So easy. John Faitro, who is blind and now left without anyone to care for him, says his wife was sent home from the clinic in great pain without being told what the coroner later found ` that her liver had been lacerated. We thought it was a normal operation. She was in pain since she left. Did they say anything about lacerating the liver? Did they say anything about lacerating the liver? No. Nothing? Nothing? Nothing. (SOBS) They told me nothing. The clinic's lawyers say Laura Faitro had other health issues, the lacerated liver was not the cause of her death, and that they are deeply upset about what happened. I lacerated the liver. Maybe they are. But here's what the doctor who operated on Laura Faitro, Ihsan Shamaan, said in a lawsuit deposition describing the reaction of one of the Omidi brothers, Julian. I said, 'If I killed her, that means there will be a lawsuit.' And Julian Omidi's response to me was, 'Don't worry. We make $21 million a month. $1 million is OK.' The Omidis' lawyers say the doctor is lying. Laura Faitro's husband says he believes the doctor, not Julian Omidi. READS: 'We make $21 million a month. $1 million is OK.' He has a love for money. He took a lot away from me. It turns out the Omidis don't do any of the actual surgeries themselves ` for good reason in the case of Julian Omidi, who had his medical licence revoked by the State Medical Board for dishonesty, citing his involvement in the burglary of exam papers when he was in college. And Michael Omidi had been put on probation as a doctor for three years, just reinstated last year. They had accused him of gross negligence in several cases. A series of articles and columns in the Los Angeles Times first revealed the deaths. And despite being hit by a string of lawsuits from the Omidis, the reporters continued to raise questions about the marketing pitch to overweight Californians. What they need is good medical care, uh, not medical care that they can get off a billboard. It sickens me they're still in business. I've never in my life seen standards so below, um, the average of what they should be. Dyanne Deuel headed the medical support staff at one of the Omidi clinics until, she told me, she quit in disgust. Deuel is now suing the Omidis, who claim she is making things up to help her lawsuit. They would send patients home that were complaining of shortness of breath and many other issues, and they'd push 'em out the door, 'Sorry, we need the bed. You need to go.' Each of the five patient deaths has raised serious questions, but none more than that of Paula Rojeski, whose friends say she wanted only to lose weight for an upcoming birthday. She said, 'Oh, I wanna get this surgery.' I said, 'You look great.' 'No, no, I wanna be skinny. I wanna be skinny.' MAN: Is she breathing? WOMAN: No. OK, paramedics are on the way. Paula died on the operating table. And the circumstances of how that happened and whether she could've been saved have now led Los Angeles Police homicide detectives to investigate whether a crime was committed. This place seems to be a magnet for bad outcomes. Lawyers for some of the families suing the Omidis say they also have been contacted for more information by a number of law enforcement agencies. Ultimately, justice may be for these families that if laws have been broken, people responsible go to jail, that they get shut down, that doctors lose their licence. There doesn't need to be any more people put on that death list. The Omidi brothers say there are greater risks with obese patients, and that their clinics are professionally accredited and meet the highest standards. But they declined repeated requests from 20/20 to appear in this programme, and were not happy to see us waiting outside their attorney's office in Beverly Hills. Dr Omidi, Brian Ross from ABC News. I wonder if I could talk to you for a second. I've been trying to get hold of you to ask what's been happening at your clinics. It's not appropriate to speak in a parking lot. It's not appropriate to speak in a parking lot. We've been trying to talk to you. Please call us so we can set a time. Please call us so we can set a time. We have called several times. What do you say to the families of those people? Gentlemen, this is very nice of you to talk to us here tonight` Gentlemen, this is very nice of you to talk to us here tonight` We've tried to reach you elsewhere. Here, let me talk to you. Here, let me talk to you. I want to talk to Dr Omidi. It's very nice for you to talk to us. It's very nice for you to talk to us. Mr Omidi, Dr Omidi, can we speak to you? can we speak to you? This is an attorney-client confidence. No, we're just trying to talk to Dr Omidi. Dr Omidi, Mr Omidi, can you explain what happened? When the time comes we'll give you` When the time comes we'll give you` But we've been trying to get a hold of you for a long time now. What do you say to the families, at least? What do you say to the families? You're interfering` You're interfering` We've expressed our concern for the families. Thank you so very much, but this is an attorney-client confidence. In a parking garage? > In a parking garage? > Yes. In a parking garage? > Yes. Yes. And now their own poster girl, Cassie Gibbons, has turned on the Omidis, saying she fears she may have been responsible for recruiting some of those patients who died. Looking back, if any of those families lost someone because of me, it's` it's` my apologies are from the bottom of my heart. Cos I would never want anyone to lose anyone over this. Next up on 20/20, we meet a mad dad ` a real mad dad. Has your child's use of social media got you at your wits' end? Well, try this for a solution. I'm gonna put a stop to it, and I'm gonna put a stop to it right now. That right there is your laptop. This right here... is my .45. GUNSHOT That was the first round. That was the first round. GUNSHOT These are exploding hollow-point rounds. You have to pay me back for these, too, cos these are about $1 apiece. Nutri-Grain, as part of a balanced diet, helps build them up into Ironmen. ALL GRUNT # Yes, sir, that's my baby. # No, sir, I don't mean maybe. With protein and calcium for muscle and bone strength and carbos for energy, Nutri-Grain, as part of a balanced diet, helps build them up into Ironmen. But in Mum's eyes,... Oh, Mum. ...he'll always be her baby boy. # Yes, sir, that's my baby now. # she's a celebrity psychic. O Welcome back. In this age of social media, some things get said that perhaps shouldn't be said, and people get mad. Well, this next dad got real mad over a post on his daughter's Facebook page. And what he did next shocked some people, but made him a hero to others. It also, of course, propelled him to internet fame. Every parent's lived through a moment like this. You've been sitting on your ass since you got home, cos you've done nothing. Frustrated father... All this is cleaning up after you. ...trying to get through to his non-responsive teen. You've got boys on this phone talking to you. This dad went ballistic over his daughter's text messages. You see your phone? Today so much of that frustration gets posted on YouTube, that viral highway of life's craziest moments. But Tommy Jordan boldly went where no parent has gone before,... It's my .45. It's my .45. GUN FIRES ...firing back after he read this posting from his teenage daughter's Facebook page. READS: 'To my parents, I'm not your damned slave. 'It's not my responsibility to clean up your <BLEEP>. 'If you want coffee, get off your ass and make it yourself. 'I'm gonna hate to see the day when you get too old to wipe your ass and you call me asking for help. 'I won't be there.' Me and my dad at the beach. Hannah's angry words shocked her father and stepmother. What was it that she did or wrote or said that upset you so much? In her particular post, the language. 'You could just pay me for all the <BLEEP> I do around the house.' Seriously? Are you kidding me? Every kid hates chores. That's why they're called chores. If you enjoyed them, they'd be called fun. And what was the initial reaction? And what was the initial reaction? I called her mom and said, 'Talk me out of putting a bullet through our kid's laptop.' That's no idle threat. Tommy Jordan lives in rural North Carolina. I live in the South, you know, where people have guns. Everybody has one, two or three. Browning Sweet 16, Remington 243, Glock 27, bolt action .22, revolver, sniper rifle, the .45. GUN COCKS GUN COCKS That's the prettiest sound in the world, that right there. On the day Tommy posted his video, he was mad as hell, and he wasn't gonna take it any more. Disrespectful to me, your mother, your stepmother, your family, your friends and yourself. So I'm gonna put a stop to it, and I'm gonna put a stop to it right now. That right there is your laptop. This right here is my .45. GUN FIRES GUN FIRES That was the first round. GUN FIRES That was the first round. GUN FIRES These are exploding hollow-point rounds. You have to pay me back for these, cos these are $1 a piece. GUN FIRES There were tens of millions of hits on the video... Your mom told me to be sure I put one there for her, so... that one's from her. This is a GI flamethrower. ...and a wave of parody in response. You know how you love bundt cake? WOMAN: This here's your favourite toy, and this is my hydroblaster. Whoo! Overnight, Tommy Jordan became a YouTube legend. I had talk show offers, book deals, TV shows, Survivor. And if I got one left... And if I got one left... GUN FIRES And if I got one left... GUN FIRES I got two left. What was going on in your 15-year-old mind when you wrote that on Facebook? I was just kinda stressed and overwhelmed, and it all came out at once. Stress, she says, because of all her chores that start with cleaning the kitchen and end with picking up the mail. How long would all these take to do? Well, we timed Hannah from start to finish. FUNKY MUSIC That was pretty much it. It was a grand total of 13 minutes and 23 seconds. I'm not making my kid sit around, you know, use her own toothbrush and wax the hardwood on her hands and knees. Go find your ball. Despite his popularity, not everyone's ready to vote for Tommy as Parent of the Year. We talked to parenting expert Dr Phil McGraw. What do you think about what he did? What do you think about what he did? Clearly, he was frustrated. I totally get that. But what do you do next? You shoot up her laptop today. What do you do when she breaks curfew? Blow up the car? Or 'I tried grounding her. None of that worked.' You don't do it for a week. You don't do it for a month. You do it until. Your job as a parent is to work until your child gets it. Despite what people think, my daughter and I communicate better. We have learned things about each other and how to communicate more effectively. that should prevent her from blowing up in the future. I'm saying the same thing every day! All this raises the issue of what parents can do when nothing seems to work. Public humiliation. A teen was forced to stand on a street corner. ...has gone viral. Tommy Jordan isn't the first frustrated father to go public with his punishment. Does public humiliation work? > Public humiliation never works. What you're gonna get is resentment, you're gonna get backlash, you're gonna get a sense of shame and confusion on the part of the child. I decided that we're gonna wear signs. Since you want attention, we're gonna get you attention. This is, like, good spicy. Hannah told us she's not embarrassed by her Facebook fiasco, but she is still grounded. It's been three months since the untimely death of her computer. How much longer? Until she learns her lesson. Until she learns her lesson. Even the bullets in the computer, she still hasn't learned her lesson? There's a few things that we want to see have a lasting effect, like respect for your parents. When your parents tell you to do something, you do it. You don't go, 'God, fine,' and march off and stomp off out of the room to do it. When those kinds of things stop and she just goes, 'OK,' and does it, the grounding is done. When you look back on this, would you have done anything differently? > Well, I guess I wouldn't have posted it. For now, Tommy and Hannah are still trying to hit the right notes in their relationship. OK, that did not happen for me. OK, that did not happen for me. BOTH CHUCKLE I'm an average parent. I do hope I'm my daughter's friend on more days than I'm not, but if I had to pick one at any given point in time based on this thing right now ` am I gonna be her friend or her parent ` I have to be her parent first. All righty. Next on 20/20 ` Emma Keeling heads to the heart of Hollywood to speak to Jamie King, the star of Hart of Dixie. Have you known a lot of Southern belles in your life? Have you known a lot of Southern belles in your life? I know a lot of Southern people, so I know their traditions. I know how it all works. So it's quite fascinating. All the people that were Southern belles were like, 'You are such a perfect Southern belle.' When they say that, I know my spot. If they yell and say I'm not doing it right, then there's a problem. But so far it's A-OK. But, believe or not, there's no denying there's something about Sue. O Welcome back. You may not know her name, but you'd probably recognise Jamie King's face. The American's done a little bit of everything ` from modelling to writing; movies to TV. She's in the new Lana Del Rey video for Summertime Sadness, and on our TV screens she stars in the new show Hart of Dixie. As Emma Keeling discovers, there's a fair bit of depth to this blonde, blue-eyed beauty. My engagement party's tomorrow. Lemon Breeland is a bit of a cow. You're engaged to Old Man Jackson? You're engaged to Old Man Jackson? No, you twit. I'm engaged to George Tucker. Jaime King, who plays her, prefers to use a word that sounds more impressive. She's not just a cow. There's a bit more complexity to her. I don't think I'd ever play a character if she was just a cow. That'd be kind of boring. Um, yeah, she's definitely the antagonist of the series, for sure. Um, and I find that part really exciting because you get to see her crumble. Poor old cow. Ah, well, looks like fun times ahead in Hart of Dixie. The show stars Rachel Bilson. She's Dr Zoe Hart, a New Yorker who graduated top of her class at medical school. I had it all ` the most amazing boyfriend who got what it was like to be a surgeon too. Best part was we both were going to do our residencies in the hospital where my dad did his, in the best city in the world ` New York. But things don't go to plan. She ends up in Bluebell, Alabama at a small practice and discovers she's brought all the wrong clothes. A tiny waist is a must. Like,... (GASPS) it's so tight you're constantly sucking in to fit it. But it's beautiful and it's fun, and I feel honoured that I get to wear such beautiful clothing. The costume designer is so amazing to us. She's just brilliant. Lemon's wardrobe is rather fabulous. I'm guessing you don't share her taste in clothes, but you can appreciate it? but you can appreciate it? I dress like a tomboy. It's weird when I come into rehearsal and they're, like, 'Ooh, nice Doc Martens.' And then I'm wearing a dress from the 1940s from the Warner Brothers' closet and custom-made this and that. I like to dress more like a boy, I guess, and Lemon is the antithesis. So it's fun. Poor Lemon. She does not like Dr Zoe. For a start, her father, Brick Breeland, is the other doc in town and doesn't like the competition. How dare you see my patients? Well, technically, Harley left his half of the practice to me. Ms Hart, I'm not gonna share this office, not for one minute. And the biggest no-no is Dr Zoe seems to be after Lemon's fiance, lawyer George Tucker, who happens to be handsome. Thought you said she was leaving town. Thought you said she was leaving town. I thought she was. No wonder Lemon has issues. And being called Lemon can't help matters. It was really important for me that I could add all of these layers and the depth to Lemon Breeland. The writers have been so amazing with that. And I love that every single episode you see her, kind of, fall apart, you know? It's just a really great thing to play. I'd much rather play that than an ingenue. Is this your first TV role? It is the first TV series that I've signed on to for, like, a full season. Because I come from film. When I first started acting, you didn't do TV and film, you did one or the other. And so I'd never even thought to do television. But before film there was modelling, starting her successful career at 14. She did all sorts, even hitting the runway for Chanel and Christian Dior. In movies, Jaime hasn't hit the jackpot, but was in Sin City with an impressive cast. ROCK MUSIC The 33-year-old's also done a few music videos in her time. But Rachel Bilson is the star of this show, and can also be a bit of a cow. Well, you tell 'Daddy' that if my medical career hasn't been killed by my mother or the chief of surgery at New York Hospital, it certainly won't be by some Southern xenophobe dressed up like a stick of butter. Rachel got her big break on The OC, a show which Jaime guest-starred on. It was actually Rose Byrne that said to me, 'You gotta do a role on television. 'They're so amazing for women. They're so strong and so great.' I'd guest-starred on things before, and that was always fun cos I could slip in and out of it. I took this pilot season very seriously. But I said I didn't wanna leave Los Angeles and I wanted to play in a great ensemble cast. And I was really blessed that this came forward. And it's really a game-changer. Yes, you heard right ` Hart of Dixie is shot on set in LA. But the Southern flavour is strong. There are bad boys,... Look at you, girl, drunk as a boiled owl. ...gators, and some big secret between Lemon and the mayor. Oh... Come on. You know how difficult this is for me. Juicy! But don't worry, the queen of the Southern belles is still a cow ` or antagonist, as Jaime prefers. Have you known many Southern belles? Have you known many Southern belles? I know a lot of Southern people, so I know their traditions, I know how it all works. So it's quite fascinating. The people that were Southern belles were, like, 'You're a perfect Southern belle.' So when they're saying that, I know my spot. If they yell at me, then there's a problem. But so far it's A-OK. (CHUCKLES) You have a good day. (GIGGLES) If you want to see any of tonight's stories again, head to our website: You can also email us at... Or, of course, go to our Facebook page. We're at... Let us know your thoughts on tonight's show. Well, thanks for all your feedback over the past week. We're interested in your stories, so keep those ideas coming in. That's our show for tonight. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you again next week.