Actor and comedian Nick Cannon is leaving his longtime gig as host of the NBC reality show "America's Got Talent" after allegedly being threatened with termination by network executives.
Cannon announced his departure via a 700-word Facebook post Monday, explaining how his decision comes after a dispute with NBC head honchos over jokes in his recent Showtime comedy special.
"Nick Cannon: Stand Up, Don't Shoot" aired Friday night on the premium cable channel and featured a different Cannon than "AGT" audiences might be used to, with frequent uses of the N-word. The word even makes an appearance in a joke about how that evening NBC stood for " N_ Better C'mon."
TMZ reported Friday that NBC executives learned about the content via Cannon's appearance on "The Howard Stern Show" and stated that Cannon was nearly fired over the incident before the network decided against it.
"America's Got Talent" is scheduled to begin filming Season 12 next month.
Representatives for NBC and Cannon did not immediately respond to the Los Angeles Times' request for comment.
