Comedian-turned-talk show host Nick Cannon has made waves three weeks in a row after having popular but controversial Pan-Africanist Dr. Umar Ifatunde Johnson on his show, “Counsel Culture.”
A recent episode of the show delved into the nuances of interracial dating. This topic carries weight for Cannon, who has fathered 12 children with six different mothers; the majority of whom are white, latina or biracial. Only one, LaNisha Cole, is a dark-skinned Black woman.
Dr. Umar, a licensed therapist specializing in working with young Black children, aimed to probe the issue of colorism within Cannon’s family, particularly how it might influence his only dark-skinned daughter, Onyx Ice Cole, as she gets older.
First, Umar made the point that many successful Black men have married or reproduced with women outside of their race.
He said the impact it has on the community is two-fold: One, it is often perceived to be a slight to Black women, and, two, it has the potential to affect the self-esteem of young dark-skinned girls.
Umar noted that in his work with Black girls in the school system, they internalize the idea that something is inherently wrong with them, believing that’s why successful Black men opt for white partners over them.
This was the basis of one of his comments that he posed directly to Cannon about his daughter Onyx and her 10 surviving brothers and sisters and their mothers.
“When Princess grows up with her siblings, you’re going to have to have a conversation along with their mothers about colorism,” he said.
Umar explained that as the brother of a dark-skinned woman, he saw “how she suffered some of the pangs of colorism” within their extended family. As a result, he knows that one day the “Wild ‘N Out” host and creator will have to have deep conversations with the child, her mother, his other children, and their mothers about making sure she is never ostracized because of her melanated skin tone.
“You would have to have this conversation and when you start explaining to Onyx that your Blackness is in no way a sin or curse … it’s a blessing, a power,” Umar insisted.
The Philadelphia native then challenged Cannon, saying, “When she reflects back to you as her father and say, ‘Well dad if this color is all that great, how did you end up to reproduce so many children with women who are not this color?’”
His response pic.twitter.com/yhEWx4F54E
— Call me Sin (@FilthSensai) March 29, 2024
Cannon’s answer was off the cuff. He said he would tell her, “Dad has a problem of wanting an assortment of flavors. I want to taste everything.”
He also suggested that his mother, Beth Gardner, who is a “light-skinned mixed race woman,” likely influenced his taste in women, noting that he’s been told she resembles his ex-wife, Mariah Carey. “They look like they cut from the same cloth … if we’re just talking about complexion,” he said.
Social media weighed in.
She might have been trying tho. 🤷🏽♀️ pic.twitter.com/SJRPttz80u
— Mona B (@MoSilkyMo2) March 29, 2024
“So he just dodged it with a joke. Wanting an assortment is one thing. He still only made babies with women who all look a certain way and it ain’t Black,” an X user stated on an edited clip of the question. Another said, “This is what he would tell his kids? lol not surprising.”
One person wrote, “Nick… breaking news!!!! your mother isn’t light skinned!!! She’s a brown skinned Black woman.” A fourth person was equally disgusted, writing, “There is not one dark-skinned Black woman with sense who wants to get picked by the likes of Nick Cannon. This is a man who has created multiple broken homes and doesn’t pay child support according to some of his baby’s mothers.”
In the longer interview, the former Nickelodeon star continued on to say that he had spoken about this before, attempting to explain that like Travis Scott, who had a child with Kylie Jenner, he was not trying “to make a cultural statement” by having interracial children.
“I’m doing it for love,” Cannon said. “I’m not doing it to … for my community or any of that stuff. I’m doing it because I love this woman. Now, OK, it may be ignorant because I’m not thinking about what the community is gonna think. I’m doing it because, man, I fell in love with this woman regardless of her complexion, regardless of her race, regardless of her upbringing.”
Umar then asked him if he felt an obligation to the community or guilty for not choosing more dark-skinned Black women to be the mother of his children. Cannon said he did in many ways.
“I feel guilty for multiple things,” the comedian said. “Guilt doesn’t mean shame. Guilt means accountability.”
Cannon says he tries to make up for not being a symbol of Black family and excellence in other ways.
