Nick Cannon Fired: Will ‘Wild ‘N Out’ Be Canceled?

The Masked Singer host Nick Cannon created MTV‘s Wild ‘N Out but was fired earlier this week over the controversial, anti-Semitic comments he made on his radio show. ViacomCBS, MTV’s parent company has not said if the show is canceled, but there is also no word on who would replace him whenever the show begins filming again. After ViacomCBS fired Cannon, the former America’s Got Talent host asked for full ownership of the sketch comedy series.

Cannon’s scandal began on Tuesday during a Cannon’s Class interview with former Public Enemy member Richard “Professor Griff” Griffin. The two discussed anti-Semitic conspiracies and referenced the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has made anti-Semitic comments. Cannon said Black people are the “true Hebrews” and said “people that don’t have [melanin] are a little less” and similar to “savages.” In another part of the interview, Cannon wondered why “we give so much power to the ‘theys,’ and ‘theys’ turn into Illuminati, the Zionists, the Rothschilds.”

The comments quickly sparked an online firestorm and ViacomCBS fired him. “We are deeply troubled that Nick has failed to acknowledge or apologize for perpetuating anti-Semitism, and we are terminating our relationship with him,” the company said. Cannon did later apologize to “my Jewish Brothers and Sisters for putting them in such a painful position, which was never my intention, but I know this whole situation has hurt many people and together we will make it right” in a Facebook post. Cannon also said he tried to reach out to ViacomCBS Chair Shari Redstone, but a ViacomCBS spokesperson told NPR this was “absolutely untrue.”

In his Facebook post, Cannon demanded ViacomCBS give him ownership of Wild ‘N Out. He created the series in 2005 and has hosted over 200 episodes. Season 15 finished airing in May and the show was renewed for a 16th season. The first four seasons aired on MTV, then the show moved to MTV2 for another three seasons before going back to MTV for Season 8. The show moved to VH1 for Season 13. All episodes of the show have since been pulled from VH1’s schedule.

Cannon claimed he was “swindled” out of ownership of Wild ‘N Out and made it clear he does not want to see anyone else overseeing the franchise. “I demand full ownership of my billion-dollar Wild ‘N Out brand that I created, and they will continue to misuse and destroy without my leadership!” Cannon wrote on Facebook. “I demand that the hate and back door bullying cease and while we are at it, now that the truth is out, I demand the Apology!”

ViacomCBS has not commented on Cannon’s demands, but he has continued issuing apologies on Twitter after speaking with members of the Jewish community. However, in a recent tweet, Cannon said he is now facing backlash for apologizing. “I hurt an entire community and it pained me to my core, I thought it couldn’t get any worse,” Cannon wrote Friday. “Then I watched my own community turn on me and call me a sell-out for apologizing. Goodnight. Enjoy Earth.”