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Celebrities are rallying around Nick Cannon following the death of his 5-month-old son, Zen.
The 41-year-old talk show host announced Zen's passing on Tuesday, sharing that his youngest child died on Sunday (December 5) due to a rare form of brain cancer.
"Over the weekend, I lost my youngest son to a condition called hydrocephalus that is pretty much a malignant, midline brain tumor—brain cancer," he told his audience on the Nick Cannon Show.
After the show aired, celebrities began to share words of encouragement and support for Nick on social media.
Fat Joe and O.T. Genasis sent prayers to Nick via comments on The Shade Room's Instagram post about Zen's passing, both artists posting prayer hands. Real Housewives of Atlanta star Eva Marcille also commented, "My heart breaks for him and Zen's mommy."
Additionally, celebrity photographer Johnny Nunez wrote, "Love you Nick [so] much I'm so sorry.
Shaun King shared his condolences on Nick's Instagram post about Zen's death, writing, "Love you brother. Standing with you and the family."
When announcing Zen's passing, Nick shared what the last months have been like for his son and family. "I always noticed he had a cough, and so I wanted to check it out. He had this interesting breathing, and by the time he was two months, I noticed he had this nice sized head too—a Cannon head," he said. "We didn't think anything of it. But I wanted to take him to the doctor for his sinus and breathing. We thought it would be routine."
Nick shared that doctors eventually informed him and Zen's mother, Alyssa Scott, that their son had a malignant tumor that required him to get brain surgery and a shunt to drain the fluid that was building in his head.
While Zen underwent surgery, Nick said things took a turn for the worst around Thanksgiving. "Ultimately [the cancer] began to spread, and the tumor began to grow a lot faster, so we knew that time was [coming to an end]," he said. "So, this weekend, I made a valid effort to spend the most quality time I could spend with Zen."
"Usually on Sundays, I handle everything I need to handle with the family, then I fly back—I rush back—so I can be here with you all," he continued, noting that he chose to stay in California a bit longer to share his son's final moments. "I wanted to make sure I could allow the sun to rise and could hold my son. Holding my son for the last time, but it was a beautiful setting."
In July, Alyssa announced that she'd given birth to a son, Zen S. Cannon — Nick's seventh child. “I will love you for eternity 🖤 6•23•21,” the proud mom captioned a series of black-and-white photos of her holding her baby boy.