‘I’m A Different Human Being’: Nick Cannon Talks to Don Johnson About Being A Dad to His Daughters
Talk show host and comedian Nick Cannon recently spoke with actor Don Johnson on his talk show, “The Nick Cannon Show,” and ended up trading stories about fatherhood, especially as it relates to being a dad to daughters. Johnson is a father to five children from various relationships.
Most noticeable of the bunch is his second child, actress Dakota Johnson whom he shares with Melanie Griffith. Johnson discussed marriage and fatherhood in addition to talking about his upcoming film. “You have a beautiful family, man. You’re married to your wife, Kelly, for awhile for like 22 years…So it’s about having fun? That’s the secret to a long-lasting marriage?” Cannon said. He was eager to gain advice from Johnson about relationships with the women in his life.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 16: Grand Marshall Nick Cannon at the 28th Annual Harlem Holiday Lights Parade on West 125th Street on November 16, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Debra L.Rothenberg/Getty Images)
During their chat, Cannon confessed to feeling particularly vulnerable with his daughters. “As a dad who has some daughters too, I need some advice in that space as well. You’re looking at me like I’m in for it,” Cannon said.
Johnson admitted to being “more scared of the girls” than any of his boys. The two bonded over their relationships with their daughters. Cannon questioned Johnson on his experiences with his daughters. “I’m owned. I’m fully owned,” Johnson said. Cannon agreed. “They control you. You’re wrapped around their finger…As soon as my daughter comes in the room, I’m a different human being.”
Although Johnson warned Cannon that he is “in for it” when it comes to being the father of daughters, he also expressed his pride. His daughter, Grace, is a model and just walked in the Gucci show in Los Angeles. He also said Dakota was dragged around to movie sets her whole life and he didn’t think she was noticing anything. “She just spent her time playing pranks on everybody. I didn’t think she was paying attention to a damn thing…Apparently she was noticing everything.”
Cannon welcomed twins Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir earlier this year in June, whom he shares with Abby De La Rosa, and a baby boy Zen, whom he shares with Alyssa Scott. The twins and baby Zen were born only nine days apart. He is not bashful about being a father to seven children. In addition to the three of his children that were born this year, Cannon has two children, Monroe and Moroccan, with Mariah Carey and two children, Golden and Powerful Queen, with Brittany Bell.
Cannon also sat down with Andy Cohen and participated in a segment called “Plead the Fifth” where Cannon and Cohen alternatively answered hot topic questions, with the option to “plead the Fifth” and not answer a question. When Cohen asked Cannon, “Who’s your favorite baby mama?” Cannon deliberated as the audience chanted, “Plead the Fifth!” Cannon finally answered, saying, “I got this. I ain’t scared of you, Andy. My favorite baby mama is the next one.”
Although Cannon may have a bit of an unconventional family, he doesn’t have unconventional feelings about being a parent. He has the same fears and desires as any parent. “When I can cut out a certain aspect of my lifestyle and focus on children and work, it makes it a lot easier,” Cannon said. In addition to being a father, Cannon continues to shoot his talk show, which launched earlier this year, and even had time to assist in the 28th-Annual Harlem Holiday Lights Event.
Cannon has shared that he loves being a father and has been advised by his therapist to engage in celibacy due to the fact that he has had so many children with various partners in less than a year. And although he has agreed to attempt a celibate life for now, he has in no way said that he will stop being a father to any future children he may have. “This is probably the issue of when you’re in an unorthodox situation. Unlike being in a marriage [where] it’s really controlled and you can really understand like, ‘All right, we got about this amount of time and we gonna have kids up to this point,’ so you can kinda monitor it. But when you’re a single individual, I don’t know if I’ll fall in love in five years. I don’t know if I’ll fall in love tomorrow.”
The rapper has never been shy about admitting that he doesn’t subscribe to monogamy. He even had an emoji-filled response to rapper Saweetie’s very public social media plea for motherhood. It’s not quite clear what his response meant, but it is clear that he would be willing to assist Saweetie in whatever way he could.
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