Everything Nick Cannon has said about his 8 children

Cannon's eldest children, twins Monroe and Moroccan Scott, were born on April 30, 2011. In June of the same year, Cannon told Us Weekly that the twins, whose mother is Grammy Award-winning singer Mariah Carey, were already developing personalities.

"My son is laid back like me," he said. "My daughter's a diva like her mom!"

He continued: "When my daughter wants something, she'll let you know immediately. With [our son], you kind of feed him when you get around to it, and he's okay with that."

During an interview with People magazine, Cannon said of his twins, Moroccan and Monroe, who were 17-months old at the time: "I want my kids to understand that every child isn't as fortunate as they are.

"I want [them] to grow up helping others. I was raised by my grandmother. We were low-income, but she was always taking in foster kids. She would help anyone, and it was a good lesson for me growing up."

The comedian also revealed that his children really like technology.

"My son was playing with [my laptop] and he broke it," he said. "My kids are already attracted to technology. They want to touch it; they're always reaching for it. They love my iPad. That's their generation; they love computers. So it'll be important as they grow older to know what they're doing online, to keep them safe."

In March 2013, the "Masked Singer" host made several jokes about hitting his children if they act out.

He told Us Weekly that in preparation for his kids turning two in April: "I got my belt out already! It's ready."

He later told TMZ: "[Carey] doesn't need to handle" the corporal punishment, because "that's what daddies are for."

Carey and Cannon filed for a divorce in 2014 but the divorced was not finalized until November 2016.

In June 2016, Cannon dropped the freestyle rap song "Divorce Papers" that referenced parting ways with Carey as well as the reaction of his children to the divorce.

In one part of the song, he rapped: "We single now but we really need to think about is how a child deals / How a child feels / Because we got two and they brilliant for real."

In October 2016, when the twins were 5 years old, Cannon joked that his daughter, Monroe, was not allowed to date until she is 50.

"When she's 48 she can start dating, and that's still a little too young; I might make her wait till 50!" Cannon told Us Weekly. "My son [Moroccan], I hope he is dating now. I hope he has like three or four girlfriends."

Cannon also said during the interview that Monroe wanted to marry a close friend of the family, who Cannon claimed is "almost her cousin."

"I'm like, 'What? You have him come talk to me immediately 'cause I don't even know why these conversations are happening.'" He said. "I'm actually gonna have to deal with this in reality one day, and I'm so scared."

In November 2016, Cannon confirmed he was having a third child, this time with Miss Arizona USA Brittany Bell.

In December, during his appearance on Power 106 where he talked about his relationship with Bell, Cannon was asked if his third child was an "oops baby," implying that he didn't intend to get Bell pregnant.

"Never an 'oops baby.' I'm so calculated with my moves," He responded. "I've always wanted five kids."

He added: "Just because my marriage was over didn't mean I couldn't continue my family. I wanted to make sure it was someone who was solid, spiritual and had the same views."

Golden "Sagon" Cannon was born in February 2017, however, Cannon still found himself defending his son.

During Cannon's appearance of "The Wendy Williams Show" in December 2018, Williams called 1-year-old Golden "the oops baby."

Cannon laughed it off in the moment but later shared a now-deleted video on Instagram of himself with the baby boy with the caption: "Got another Genius on my hands!!! The Golden Child! No oops over here @wendyshow LOL??❤️ My guy is brilliant! Reading at the age of 1!! #Genius."

Cannon told People in January 2018 about being a parent after his divorce: "It's funny when they say 'co-parenting' — that phrase is a little redundant. You can't co-parent, you have to parent, and that's what we do well because when it comes to our children, we're selfless individuals — they're first."

In the wake of the death of George Floyd in 2020, Cannon spoke about having to teach his children about what to do when they encounter law enforcement in an interview with "Access."

"My children fear police," the musician admitted. "I try to teach fearlessness. I try to teach, 'You have a power within you that you need to fear nothing.' But when they see the energy of law enforcement [it's like], 'Uh oh, here comes the police.' or that mindset of sit up straight and 'Don't talk, keep you hands where they can see them.'"

Cannon added that law enforcement "perpetuate fear."

He said: "It's something that is hurtful to have those conversations with your children, but you want to protect them at the end of the day."

In February 2020, Cannon spoke to Entertainment Tonight about how he no longer believes in marriage.

During the interview, he said: "It's the funniest thing, my kids call me a player. I was like, 'Who taught you that word? Who's been talking to you?' And [Moroccan's] like, 'Dad you can't be a player forever.' I'm like, this is the worst."

In September 2021, Cannon told Entertainment Tonight that his therapist told him to consider celibacy soon after the birth of his seventh child.

During the interview, he said he wasn't sure if he agreed with the advice but a week later, Cannon said on Revolt's "Drink Champs" that he will try to be celibate until 2022.

Cannon said: "I'm kind of stepping away, getting focused, going within, getting my celibacy on. I have enough children, enough frolicking, I'm good right now."

In an interview with ABC News in 2016, in the midst of his divorce from Carey, Cannon admitted that he wanted more kids after the twins.

"I'm not against it. I talk about that all the time. I love children. Everybody knows that," the "America's Got Talent" host said. "Whether it's having more of my own, or adopting, whatever, I love that process. Kids kind of bring that vibrant side [out] of me so whenever I can be a part of that process I'm with it."

In September 2021, after having seven children with four different women, Cannon did not rule out having more children during an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

"Think about it, you can't be like, 'No I'm done.' Like what if God says, 'No you not,'" Cannon said. "I come from a big family, I have several siblings, being raised in an unorthodox family by my grandparents at times, I've experienced such a wide range of upbringing that I have such a love and passion for kids and family. I want a big family too."

During a more recent interview on "The Dr. Oz Show" in November 2021, Cannon said that he doesn't kn0w how many kids he'll have before joking about having the "biblical number" of 12.

He added that it is "difficult" to answer if he'll have more kids because he is single and he doesn't know whether he'll fall in love again.