In January 2022, Nick Cannon opened up about his Lupus battle in an episode of his talk show. “Ten years ago, I experienced a sudden and mysterious illness that almost took my life,” he said back then. “At the time, I had no idea it was lupus.”
“And, you know me, I always have to have a camera on,” he continued. “So, I would literally open up my phone, grab my camera and I would talk to the camera, and I documented the entire health journey.”
The host concluded his speech by saying: “And, because it’s such an important anniversary for me, and we’re all about health and wellness in 2022, I wanted to share my own personal testimony with you.”
He then shared a video — a mix of home footage — with his wife at that time, Mariah Carey. In the narration, he asks, “How did I get here? I mean, just a few days ago I was with my family in the snow, playing, having a good time.”
Here’s a closer look at Cannon’s health, as well as its effect on his 12 kids…
In December 2022, ahead of Christmas, Cannon took to Instagram to say that he was hospitalized after coming down with pneumonia. “Okay, so I guess I’m not Superman,” he wrote in the caption alongside photos of him in the hospital.
“I promised myself I would never be back at this place again… But this is a great lesson to take care of YOU or YOU won’t be able to take care of everyone else.”
The Drumline alum assured his worried fans: “Don’t trip though, I don’t need any good wishes or prayers, just some solid rest and I will be back on the journey to becoming stronger than ever. It’s just pneumonia, nothing I can’t handle.”
He also revealed that he was just performing for his Wild ‘N Out tour, hours before being rushed to the hospital. “Crazy thing is, last night we were just rocking a sold-out crowd at Madison square garden in front of thousands of fans,” he wrote at the end of his post, “now I’m all alone in a tiny hospital room. Life is definitely a rollercoaster! #LupusWarrior.”
In 2021, after the birth of his seventh child, Cannon told City Girls rappers JT and Yung Miami — who were his guests on Nick Cannon Radio — that all his children were planned. “I’m having these kids on purpose. I don’t have no accident,” he explained.
“Trust me, there’s a lot of people that I could’ve gotten pregnant that I didn’t,” he continued. “The ones that got pregnant are the ones that were supposed to get pregnant.”
When he spoke to Howard Stern about his diagnosis back in 2017, he quipped: “I’m probably gonna die sooner than most people… so let’s **** all night!”
Cannon’s statements might have inspired TikTok user Kylie Marisa to come up with the theory that he keeps having children to secure a kidney donor should he need a transplant. “As we’ve seen with Selena Gomez who also suffers from lupus, she’s already had a kidney transplant,” said Marisa.
“One of the biggest complications of lupus is the requirement of a kidney transplant or multiple kidney transplants,” she continued. “Let’s say you’re a multi-millionaire like Nick Cannon, and he could have a rare blood type like I do. How can you guarantee that are organ donors available to you when you would need a kidney?”
She noted that “the more children you have, the more likely you are that at least one, probably a few, will be your donor match.” Many people thought it made sense, but Cannon has never even addressed the claims.
According to reports, Cannon’s lupus flare-up could have been caused by stress. With a healthier lifestyle, his kids are less likely to get the disease. After all, there is only a “five percent chance” that they might develop their father’s condition. They’d have to inherit the particular genes that predispose them to lupus from Cannon.
And as previously reported by TheThings: “When it comes to this autoimmune disease, women, and more specifically, women of color, are more likely to be diagnosed than white women or men of color. Black and Hispanic women typically develop lupus earlier and are at a higher risk of being ‘diagnosed with kidney problems, have seizure, strokes, or swelling of the heart.'”
Regardless of the statistics, we’re sure Cannon and his co-parents are keeping a close watch on their children’s health. ”
