Nick Cannon has joined several celebrities who are using their platforms to denounce police brutality and systemic racism after the killing of George Floyd.
In a conversation with Access Hollywood, the Masked Singer host revealed that his three children – including the two he had with ex-wife Mariah Carey – fear law enforcement.
The 39-year-old began: “My children fear police. It’s a real statement. I didn’t say, ‘You should be.’ 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 when, ‘Uh oh, here comes the police“ or that mindset of, ‘Sit up straight, and don’t talk, keep your hands where they can see them.’
“These are things I’m talking to a three-year-old about or a nine-year-old about, and they bring those questions to me.”
The former Nickelodeon star added: “It’s hurtful to have those conversations with your children, but you want to protect them at the end of the day.”
Cannon revealed that when he was growing up, he too was afraid of the police and would never call them for help. “It wasn’t about safety, it was like, “Somebody’s in trouble’,” he said. “It’s never been a good experience.”
Cannon joined a Black Lives Matter protest last week in Minneapolis, where ex-police officer Derek Chauvin was videoed kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes.
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