Nick Cannon would “rather raise a bully” than have one of his children be targeted by a bully.
The father of 12 said as much during an episode of the We Playin’ Spades podcast shared on Monday (Nov. 24). He argued that children need to be taught self-defense regardless of whether parents think they’ll use the skills or not.
“First of all, for a man, there’s confidence in knowing how to fight, just being a protector,” Cannon said. “Because I was a very, very small child and I had taekwondo, and all that helped me and gave me a sense of confidence. But it didn’t happen until I got into a couple fights, and I was like ‘Oh, I’m nice.’ You gotta know what getting punched in the face feels like.”
While Cannon made clear he doesn’t want to tell anyone “how to raise their kids,” he stuck to his argument that being well-versed in matters of self-defense can instill confidence.
“I just want people to be like ‘Boy, them Cannons coming! They gon’ fuck you up. You see them Cannons?’” he joked.
Deeper into the conversation, the longtime Wild 'n Out host summarized his stance.
“I’d rather raise a bully than my child to be bullied,” said Cannon, who also conceded that he was “raised at a different time."
“At least teach a kid how to defend themselves," he added.
The 45-year-old routinely garners attention for his commentary on parenting, not to mention his sense of humor about the size of his family.
During a Breakfast Club chat earlier this year, Cannon credited therapy with leading him to several realizations, including about a “careless” and “frivolous” period in his life. Still, the comedian, who shares two children with ex-wife Mariah Carey, said he believes “every child” he has “was made out of love.’