Nick Cannon Responds to Jimmy Kimmel’s Oscars Joke About His Kids

Nick Cannon is taking Jimmy Kimmel’s Oscars joke about him and his many children in good humor. The 42-year-old father of 12 responded to the comedian’s teasing when asked by TMZ Monday, saying that it was “hilarious” and that he, as the creator of Wild ‘N Out, is someone who doesn’t take that kind of a joke too seriously. Besides, Cannon added, he and Kimmel are friends, which makes his comments extra harmless.

Cannon became a punchline in Kimmel’s opening monologue at Sunday’s Academy Awards as the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host joked about the massive expense and subsequent success of Avatar: The Way Of Water. “Just to break even, all of Nick Cannon’s kids had to see Avatar four times,” he teased. “And they did, I guess.”

Cannon shares 11-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan with Mariah Carey and is also father to Rise, 5 months, Powerful, 2, and Golden, 6, with Brittany Bell; 3-month-old Beautiful and 1-year-olds Zion and Zillion with Abby De La Rosa; Halo, 2 months, and late son late Zen with Alyssa Scott; 7-month-old Legendary with Bre Tiesi; and 5-month-old Onyx with LaNisha Cole.

Cannon has been the first one to poke fun at his high rate of procreation, announcing a game show last week titled Who’s Having My Baby? with Nick Cannon. The show turned out to be a gag that is part of the upcoming season of Celebrity Prank Wars featuring Cannon and Kevin Hart as co-hosts but initially presented as a competition show featuring single women who wanted to birth Cannon’s next child.

Cannon told Entertainment Tonight last month that “God decides when we’re done” having children after being asked if he planned to have more kids. He added, “I definitely got my hands full. And I’m so focused. I’m locked in. But when I’m 85, you never know. I might [have more].” The Masked Singer host explained that being a father to so many kids was more about energy than time. “Everybody thinks it’s time management. It’s energy management,” he said. “[Because] once we’re all aligned, the flow is a lot easier. If there’s any kind of low frequencies or dissension in there that’s what messes up the scheduling. As long as we’re all on the same page and we all got the same goal – to be the best parents we could possibly be – that works and then the scheduling is the scheduling.”