Emily Brown
Nick Cannon is well on his way to recreating Cheaper By The Dozen with his 12th child on the way, and singer Akon is giving him his full support.
Cannon, 42, has sparked mixed feelings as he continues to grow his brood, having welcomed 11 children in as many years with different women.
He became a father to four new children in 2022 alone, and after he and Alyssa Scott lost their son, Zen, at five months old last year they recently confirmed they will be welcoming another child - Cannon's 12th - in 2023.
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Cannon has previously expressed his adoration for his clan, telling People earlier this year that he wakes up excited 'every day'.
The TV presenter's excitement hasn't stopped people joking about his impressive speed with producing children, but Akon made clear that he's on Cannon's side.
When asked about Cannon's big family during an appearance on The Zeze Millz Show, Akon commented: "I agree with him 1,000 percent. That’s how life is supposed to be."
"Why not?," the singer continued. "He’s rich. He’s responsible. He takes care of every one of those children. And the baby mothers are with it. And they hurt for nothing. And they live comfortably.”
Millz argued that being a father means a lot more than offering up financial support, but Akon insisted that wasn't what was happening with Cannon.
“He’s there for every one of them,” Akon countered. “He’s there for every single one of those kids. I got nine [kids] and I’m there for every one of mine.”
He continued: “No, seriously. Listen, my job is to raise my kids, to be responsible, to be understanding, to protect their mother, to give a hand with their father, and to assist with family planning, and to be responsible adults … Now guess what? While I’m taking care of my responsibility to make sure the family has a roof over their head and food, if I have the time to do that and show love, yes, I will do that. But my responsibility is to make sure they grow up responsible and strong.”
Though helping your child grow up to be responsible and strong is obviously important, Akon also offered up the controversial argument that his job as a father was to provide comfort for the mother and kids, rather than having to physically be there all the time.
“You can’t expect a man to conquer the world, if he’s home with children,” he said. "Why would you wanna take children all around the world with a man? That’s so womanistic. What man do you know is gonna run around with his children? You know how weak that looks? Who does that?”
The singer's claims did not go down well with the host, who argued that there had to be a level of 'presence' from a father.