Nick Cannon Implies He Quit ‘America’s Got Talent’: There’s ‘No Amount of Money Worth My Dignity or Integrity’
Nick Cannon says he cannot see himself continuing to host America’s Got Talent on NBC in a lengthy Facebook and Instagram post on Monday, in which he claims he was censored by the network.
“After days of deliberating over some extremely disappointing news that I was being threatened with termination by Executives because of a comedy special that was only intended to bring communities closer together, I was to be punished for a joke,” the 36-year-old actor writes. “This has weighed heavy on my spirit. It was brought to my attention by my ‘team’ that NBC believed that I was in breach of contract because I had disparaged their brand. In my defense, I would ask, how so? Or is this just another way to silence and control an outspoken voice who often battles the establishment?”
“I find myself in a dark place having to make a decision that I wish I didn’t have to, but as a man, an artist, and a voice for my community, I will not be silenced, controlled or treated like a piece of property,” he continues. “There is no amount of money worth my dignity or my integrity.”
WATCH: Nick Cannon Shares Incredible Throwback Pic With Beyonce — ‘I Used to Stalk Destiny’s Child’
Cannon stresses that he’s loved hosting America’s Got Talent for the last eight seasons, but that his “soul won’t allow [him] to be in business with corporations that attempt to frown on freedom of speech, censor artists, and question cultural choices.”
“Not to get too detailed but this isn’t the first time executives have attempted to ‘put me in my place’ for so called unruly actions,” he claims. “I will not stand for it. My moral principles will easily walk away from the millions of dollars they hang over my head. It’s never been about the money for me, what is difficult to walk away from is the fans, the people who love me on the show. This hurts tremendously.”
Cannon says he now wishes to become his own boss.
“I now have to set out on a journey of freedom as an artist,” he writes. “As I was quoted in a recent interview, ‘You can’t fire a Boss!’ and that is the essence that I possess. So I wish AGT and NBC the best in its upcoming season but I cannot see myself returning. As of lately I have even questioned if I want to even be a part of an industry who ultimately…