As of June 2021, Nick Cannon has seven children with four different women, and there’s 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 aren’t questioning the number of children but rather the number of baby mothers, Cannon replied, “But why do people question that? That’s a eurocentric concept when you think about the ideas of, like, you’re supposed to have this one person for the rest of your life and really that’s just to classify property when you think about it.”
The 40-year-old said he “understands the institution of marriage” but ultimately doesn’t want “ownership” over anyone. “Because we’re so indoctrinated into it, like, ‘We have to have it this way,’ I don’t subscribe to that,” he said. “I actually think women are blessing us. Those women, and all women are the ones that open themselves up to say, ‘I would like to allow this man in my world, and I will birth this child.’ So, it ain’t my decision, I’m following suit.”
Cannon said he’s not running around thinking “who I’m gonna impregnate next,” and that the women he’s had children with “always lead and make the decisions.” He added, “Women lead, in every scenario I’ve had. I step back, and say, ‘How do you wanna do this?’ And it’s sad because a lot of people will be like, ‘Man, how is he convincing these women?’ ... I’m the one that’s in the scenario where I have to follow suit on what they decide.”
As for criticism that he doesn’t have enough time to spend with all his children, Cannon countered that “time is a man-made concept” and he’s very supportive of his children. “My children are my priority,” he said. Later in the chat, he also insisted he would “of course” 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. “Mariah was never a big believer in marriage, either,” 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 they’re 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 “weakness.” But he thinks it “takes great strength to step up to anyone and say, ‘I was wrong.’” He added that a lot of apologies make the mistake of apologizing to someone for making them feel bad, rather than truly being sorry.
“That shows strength,” he said, also calling DaBaby “a strong brother.”
Cannon insisted DaBaby wasn’t attempting to be “hateful” with his comments, and that removing him from music festivals isn’t the right response. There should be more room for people to grow, he argued, and at every point everyone is “ignorant” on one issue or other. Later he also suggested there’s a double standard because Eminem, who has made multiple homophobic comments in his music over the years, never faced similar criticism.
“DaBaby’s not canceled, he’s not over,” Cannon insisted.
