As one of the hardest-working artists in the business, The Masked Singer Host Nick Cannon is just as well known these days Dad brood is constantly growing As for his multi-hyphenate career path. 2022 brought plenty of highs in that department, as the R&B singer celebrated the births of four children — with Last born November 11th – And the Another is still on the way. But the year wasn’t entirely positive, unfortunately, as it began with Cannon and Alyssa Scott still in mourning. The death of his five-month-old son Zainwho succumbed to brain cancer in November 2021. A year later, the comedian opened up about how he deals with that dark time, and the guilt he sometimes feels when it comes to his role as a father.
Nick Cannon first announced the news of Zayn’s death on his short-lived talk show, where he spoke candidly about the infant’s prognosis, and embraced a somewhat similar line in looking back on last year. Appearing in the medical chat series Examination with Dr. David Argus (Available for streaming with the Paramount + subscription), Cannon addressed one of the only downsides to parenthood in his own case, saying:
Obviously, being a father of several children, my biggest fault is always that I don’t spend enough time with all of my kids. One, because I’m constantly working out, and two, I’m just scattered.
There’s clearly a necessity when it comes to Nick Cannon being a busy guy in Hollywood, and he’s been somewhat lately. Take up the amount of child support He is responsible for everything but everything else he provides for his children and their mothers. But being a busy, mobile person isn’t for everyone, because it’s not as easy as some might think and is constantly running on all cylinders.
Cannon spoke to Dr. David Argus about how being an energetic, project-focused person doesn’t exactly align with the idea of taking time to grieve quietly, but makes an effort to get to know that part of himself. In his own words:
I’m learning. I allow myself to be sad. Some days are easier, some days a little more difficult. There is a lot of guilt. I feel like it made me more empathetic. Changed this guilt over all that I couldn’t do with Zen, I can apply to my other children.
It can be very difficult to wade through such a complex guilt, so hopefully having lots of kids to shower him with love has really worked for him, and that he’s able to support Alyssa Scott in any way necessary. The couple founded the nonprofit Zen’s Light to focus on children’s health care and help families deal with acceptance and grief when needed.
Nick Cannon, who recently dealt with his own Hospital stay to fight pneumoniaHe said he feels no guilt about his and Scott’s decision to forgo chemotherapy as a course of treatment for Zane’s brain cancer, though he still allows for quality-of-life procedures such as draining cranial fluid through a shunt. Having previously been diagnosed with lupus, and having endured those physically and mentally grueling treatments, Cannon said he could not understand putting someone so young in a similar situation without a guarantee of survival, saying:
I have no regrets about it, because seeing your son hooked up to all these machines… Like I said, because he had to go do a shunt like two or three times, and it was heartbreaking each time. And even in that short time, I couldn’t imagine he’d ever go through chemotherapy.
Hopefully, the fact that Cannon can speak about Zen’s death so publicly can be an inspiration to other grieving parents who may not feel ready to talk about their upset feelings.
All six episodes of Examination with Dr. David Argus We are Available to stream now (Opens in a new tab) on Paramount+, with other episodes guest-featuring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Amy Schumer, Ashton Kutcher, and Oprah Winfrey.
