By BET News Staff  |  May 4, 2026

Nick Cannon says his 15-year-old son, Moroccan, can date, but his twin sister, Monroe, cannot. The 45-year-old father of 12 openly admits this is a double standard.

Cannon shared his parenting rules during a Saturday appearance on The TMZ Podcast. He said he supports Moroccan dating. He said he does not support Monroe doing the same.

"My son been dating, and I've allowed it," Cannon said, TMZ reported. "I've encouraged it."

When asked if Monroe gets the same encouragement, Cannon answered quickly. "No, absolutely not. It's absolutely a double standard."

Cannon said he sees a real difference between raising a son and raising a daughter. "I get in trouble a lot 'cause I say things with my chest," he said. "But there is a difference when parenting a son and parenting a daughter. I am more protective of my daughter because there are things out there that I have to protect her from."

The host asked if Cannon worried about gold diggers chasing Moroccan. He laughed off the idea. "No! He got a whole lot of money. His mom is Mariah Carey! He's good."

When the conversation turned to Monroe's safety, Cannon's tone changed. "If somebody puts their hands on my daughter, I'm going to jail," he said. "I'm doing 25 to life if somebody put their hands on my daughter."

Cannon shared the deal he made with Monroe about future dates. "If she can explain to me what's going to happen on these dates, then she can go," he said. He added that her brother has to come along. "Your twin brother can go with you. That's what I do. But you ain't going one-on-one with no little b**tard anywhere."

Cannon framed his rule as preparation for college. "I know that's out of my control. I can't do nothing about it. Hopefully we're still having all these open conversations. My daughter tells me any and everything," he said.

The reaction online has been mostly critical. One viral comment, the IBT reported, summed up the backlash: "He's protecting his daughter from the things he's not teaching his son."

Cannon has 12 children with six different women. He shares twins Moroccan and Monroe with Mariah Carey, who he was married to from 2008 to 2016.