As of June 2021, Nick Cannon has seven children with four different women, and thereâs been almost constant chatter about this throughout the year. In a new interview with Charlamagne and DJ Envy on the Breakfast Club, Cannon opened up about being a parent and defended himself.
Almost immediately, Cannon spoke about how much he values his children. When Charlamagne suggested at the 1:20 point of the clip above that people arenât questioning the number of children but rather the number of baby mothers, Cannon replied, âBut why do people question that? Thatâs a eurocentric concept when you think about the ideas of, like, youâre supposed to have this one person for the rest of your life and really thatâs just to classify property when you think about it.â
The 40-year-old said he âunderstands the institution of marriageâ but ultimately doesnât want âownershipâ over anyone. âBecause weâre so indoctrinated into it, like, âWe have to have it this way,â I donât subscribe to that,â he said. âI actually think women are blessing us. Those women, and all women are the ones that open themselves up to say, âI would like to allow this man in my world, and I will birth this child.â So, it ainât my decision, Iâm following suit.â
Cannon said heâs not running around thinking âwho Iâm gonna impregnate next,â and that the women heâs had children with âalways lead and make the decisions.â He added, âWomen lead, in every scenario Iâve had. I step back, and say, âHow do you wanna do this?â And itâs sad because a lot of people will be like, âMan, how is he convincing these women?â ... Iâm the one thatâs in the scenario where I have to follow suit on what they decide.â
As for criticism that he doesnât have enough time to spend with all his children, Cannon countered that âtime is a man-made conceptâ and heâs very supportive of his children. âMy children are my priority,â he said. Later in the chat, he also insisted he would âof courseâ use a condom if asked.
From there, Cannon also briefly touched upon his six years of marriage with Mariah Carey, with whom he has 10-year-old twins. âMariah was never a big believer in marriage, either,â he said at the 5:30 point. Cannon said the two of them went into their relationship not really investing in marriage in general, and that theyâre on good terms these days despite their divorce.
Near the 53-minute point of the interview, Cannon also gave his thoughts on the recent backlash against DaBaby following homophobic comments he made while performing at Rolling Loud Miami.
Cannon suggested a lot of men have difficulty with apologizing since it can be seen as a form of âweakness.â But he thinks it âtakes great strength to step up to anyone and say, âI was wrong.ââ He added that a lot of apologies make the mistake of apologizing to someone for making them feel bad, rather than truly being sorry.
âThat shows strength,â he said, also calling DaBaby âa strong brother.â
Cannon insisted DaBaby wasnât attempting to be âhatefulâ with his comments, and that removing him from music festivals isnât the right response. There should be more room for people to grow, he argued, and at every point everyone is âignorantâ on one issue or other. Later he also suggested thereâs a double standard because Eminem, who has made multiple homophobic comments in his music over the years, never faced similar criticism.
âDaBabyâs not canceled, heâs not over,â Cannon insisted.