Nick Cannon Wants To Raise ‘A Bully’ Rather Than A Child Who Gets ‘Bullied’

Nick Cannon has sparked outrage once again with an unconventional parenting take. The actor, best known for his roles in “Drumline” and the hit TV show “Wild N Out,” recently had an intense conversation on his podcast, “We Playin Spades,” with his co-host and one of his baby’s mothers, Bre Tiesi, about how children, especially young boys, should be raised. During the conversation, Cannon shared that he’d prefer his sons know how to fight, or even be a “bully,” rather than be bullied. While his statements were met with some understanding around the podcast table, social media users didn’t agree at all, wasting no time calling the father of 12 out for promoting harmful takes.

On the most recent “We Playin Spades” podcast episode, Cannon spoke with one of his baby’s mothers, Tiesi, about the last time she got “her a-s whooped.”

She joked with Cannon that her last physical altercation was with their young son, Legendary Love.

Cannon laughed with the rest of the table before sharing that he’s told his son he can only hit boys—a statement Tiesi rejected.

As he went on, Cannon said he shared this framework with his son just in case another boy ever tests him.

“Nah, you gotta throw hands,” he said.

Elsewhere in the conversation, one of Cannon’s podcast guests explained that they don’t condone fighting, to which Cannon replied, “But you gotta teach your child how to defend themselves. Girls and boys.”

Later, Cannon argued that there’s an undeniable level of confidence that rises in a man when he knows how to fight, which is what he wants to pass on to his son.

“Knowing how to throw your hands [as a man] will help you in life,” he said.

He didn’t stop there, though. Cannon finished, “I’d rather raise a bully than my child to be bullied.”

It didn’t take long for Cannon’s words to start circulating on the internet, sparking intense conversations and reactions from users about the message he’s spreading to his 12 children.

“D-mn, why not just raise your kid to be kind, but also to stand up for themselves when need be?” someone asked.

Another user clearly agreed, saying they’d “never want to raise a bully” before noting the difference between “the bully and bullied.”

“Let’s just all try to raise decent and kind humans,” they added.

A third user didn’t even seem to take Cannon’s take seriously, writing, “Even with all the children he has, I wouldn’t take advice from this man on how to parent.”

Someone else shared a similar statement, encouraging social media users not to “let celebrities raise your kids.”

Cannon’s son, Legendary, is just one of 12 children the actor has with six different women.

As previously reported by The Blast, Cannon has shared controversial parenting takes before, which have also landed him in the hot seat.

In August 2025, he faced criticism from fans after admitting he doesn’t want his daughters to date “people like their dad.”