Nick Cannon left NBC’s America’s Got Talent in February after a joke he made on a Showtime stand-up comedy special was deemed inappropriate by the network. Cannon was accused of being in breach of contract, but rather than wait for the network to act, he quit.
“I was to be punished for a joke,” he wrote on Facebook at the time. “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. 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. There is no amount of money worth my dignity or my integrity.”
But it’s all working out in his favor. The Wild ‘N Out star has reportedly signed up for a new hosting gig at Nickelodeon for the show Lip Sync Battle Shorties, a kid-friendly version of LL Cool J’s popular Lip Sync Battles series on Spike TV.
In each episode, three kids must personalize their performances by coming up with their own costumes, choreography, staging and songs. The contestants do get a little assistance from the Shorties Dance Crew, a 10-person, in-house backup dancers crew who are well versed in everything from breakdancing to ballroom dancing. Each episode also features a special celebrity appearance and final performance from all the kids.
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YouTube star JoJo Siwa serves as Cannon’s co-host and provides commentary on the performances.
The initial spinoff premiered as a special last year and has garnered over 20 million views on Nickelodeon’s YouTube channel.
Lip Sync Battle Shorties plans to return with Halloween and holiday specials before the first 10-episode season launches in early 2018.
