Nick Cannon and Kel Mitchell reunited on Cannon’s daytime talk show and the host made sure to let his former “All That” co-star know just how much of an impact he as well as “SNL” star Keenan Thompson had on his life and career.
The “Wild N Out” creator expressed his gratitude for his longtime friend and fellow former child star during the Tuesday, Nov. 2, episode of his self-titled talk show. The pair go way back to the days of Nickelodeon’s original “All That” cast and spin-off series “Keenan and Kel,” which Cannon wrote for; he also appeared in the show.
“I started really watching this brother do things that I didn’t even know were possible and I was a fan and then I got to be a part of the show and he literally just took me under his wing like a little brother,” gushed Cannon at the 1:00 mark as he introduced Mitchell.
“You and Keenan gave me the opportunity to write episodes and stuff,” he said, reflecting on his time working on “Keenan and Kel.” “I was the audience warm-up, just like Chad over there. At like 16, I would drive up in my momma’s old car, Kel would let me sleep in his apartment sometimes and hang out.”
“The Masked Singer” host made sure to give Keenan and Kel their flowers for being amazing mentors and “inspiring a generation.”
He said, “You and Kenan just opened your doors to me and really saw me as family, man. If I haven’t said thank you enough, I’ll say it again just for all of that tutelage,” he expressed.
“Not only for me, but you inspired a generation man! All of these kids on TikTok…you guys created comedy for young people and the fact that now you get the be the executive producer of the new ‘All That’ its come full circle.”
“All That” was revived in 2019 and Mitchell is among the producers, as well as a number of OG castmates that have made cameo appearances, including Lori Beth Denberg, Josh Server and Alisa Reyes.
Cannon also credited Mitchell with being the inspiration behind wanting to give his kids “weird, strange, powerful ” names.
“You named Lyric ‘Lyric’ and I thought that was such a dope name when we was kids and I was like ‘I wanna name my kids weird, strange, powerful names like that.’ You got Lyric, you got Honor, you got Wisdom, I got Powerful, Golden, and I got that from you man!”
Mitchell is a father of four: daughters Allure and Wisdom and sons Lyric and Honor, while Cannon is a proud dad to a brood of seven: twins Moroccan and Monroe, Powerful, Golden, twins Zion and Zillion Heir, and his youngest, Zen, who was born in July 2021.
