In a special message from Nick Cannon on his eponymous talk show, the father of seven tearfully shared that his youngest son, Zen, has passed away.
The nine-minute clip began with Cannon admitting that he had not shared the news with anyone until now. “I had a tough weekend,” he stated before showing a photo of Zen as his routine “Pic of the Day.” Upon sharing, Cannon began to tear up as the audience provided support shouting, “We love you, Nick!”
Zen Scott Cannon was born on June 23, 2021, to Nick Cannon and model, Alyssa Scott. The 41-year-old mentioned that as Zen got older, he had a “cough” that he attributed to sinuses, but still raised enough awareness to get checked out. “He always had this real interesting breathing and then by the time he was two months old, I noticed he had—what I call—a Cannon head. All my kids have really nice, round heads and we didn’t think anything about it,” he shared.
What he and Scott presumed would be a routine checkup ended up being a tragic revelation. They learned Zen had a malignant tumor and needed immediate surgery. He was battling a form of brain cancer, Hydrocephalus. It is explained as “the buildup of fluid in the cavities (ventricles) deep within the brain [which leads to] the excess fluid increasing the size of the ventricles and [putting] pressure on the brain.” Doctors put a shunt in his brain in an effort to drain the fluid, reduce his head size, and allow him to resume normal functionality.
“We were faithful and hopeful for that time,” expressed Cannon. “I embraced every moment […] and got an opportunity to spend as much time [together].” Up until Thanksgiving, Zen was fine, Cannon explained, but then the tumor began to grow rapidly, and unfortunately, he and Scott knew their time with their baby boy was limited.
“This weekend, I made a valid effort to spend the most quality time I could spend with Zen,” he shared. This Sunday (Dec. 5), Cannon spent Zen’s final moments by the water, watching the sunrise and sunset, as opposed to rushing back for his talk show like he normally does.
“People would often tell me I should pray for miracles and I did pray for the miracle. I prayed for the miracle of God’s strength and that’s why I’m here with you guys today,” stated Cannon.
VIBE sends our deepest condolences to the Cannon and Scott families during this time. Watch the full video below.