Nick Cannon is a TV host, comedian, producer, and father of 12 proud children, but sometimes, he even has an off day. That was clear when he tripped up during a surprise parenting pop quiz on The Good Podcast with host Bobbi Althoff. The challenge? Name all 12 of his children. The result was a viral moment: two kids were forgotten from the list.
Here, fittingly, with his characteristic smile and a good-natured laugh, Cannon, 44, answered the question well, laying out his “yes” responses to the best of his ability, even with a knowing caveat: “I always get in trouble… I’ll lay them all out for you, keep me honest.”
Check out this Article
He got off to a strong start, tapping names confidently like someone who’s done this before. “There’s ‘Roc, ‘Roe, Golden, Powerful, Rise, Onyx, Legendary, Zion, Zillion, Zen…” he said, ticking them off, nodding at the roster. But then, the momentum faded. A pause. A glance upward. A count. “You know this is where … How much more now?” he d asked with an embarrassed smile.
Cannon could name most of his famously prodigious brood. He fathered Monroe and Moroccan, his 14-year-old twins with Mariah Carey. His children, Brittany Bell, Golden Sagon, Powerful Queen, and Rise Messiah, also appeared on the list, as did Onyx Ice Cole, Legendary Love, Zion Mixolydian, Zillion Heir, and Zen, the son he tragically lost in 2021.
But the two names that didn’t cut it? Beautiful Zeppelin, his daughter with Abby De La Rosa, and Halo Marie, his daughter with Alyssa Scott.
It wasn’t long before social media had caught the fumble. The clip was spreading by the hour, drawing a swirl of responses that ranged from empathy to eyebrow-raising critique. After all, memorizing a dozen names on the fly isn’t quite a casual ask, mainly when those names are spread across multiple households and relationships.
Some fans rushed to defend him, saying he was put on the spot in a public scenario. Others were less forgiving, wondering how any parent could forget their children’s names, podcast nerves or not.
Cannon himself didn’t say more after the episode aired earlier this week. And maybe that’s just as well because, let’s be real, parenting is not a performance. It’s messy, convoluted, and, in Cannon’s case, literally all over the village.
Yet the moment reminded me that even the most seasoned showperson can falter when life is as complete as Cannon’s. It was nerves, a mental hiccup, or just the chaos of shaking up the 12-name mental Rolodex; it certainly was human. Awkward.
And if there’s a silver lining, it would be this: Beautiful and Halo; if you are reading this, your dad might have blacked out for a second, but the world knows your names now, that’s for sure.
0 Comments