Nick Cannon’s New Show At Center Of Lawsuit Over Whether It Illegally Copied 'Wild 'N Out'

Nick Cannon‘s Zeus Network show Bad vs. Wild has some similarities to a different show he’s long been affiliated with, Wild ‘N Out — and Viacom thinks the shows are too close, so they’re suing.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday (February 3) in federal court in Manhattan, is not against Cannon personally, though it mentions that he hosts the show, is an executive producer, and that program is put out “in association with” his company NCredible Entertainment. Zeus Network is the defendant, alongside numerous as-yet-unnamed people involved in the creation of the show.

The complaint, viewed by HipHopDX, accuses Bad vs. Wild of being an “unlawful copy” of Wild ‘N Out.

“[I]t is a wholesale appropriation of Viacom’s intellectual property, including the show’s format, creative and design elements, and even its host, Nick Cannon,” it continues [italics in original].

“Zeus’s collaboration with Mr. Cannon—the longtime host and face of ‘Wild ‘N Out’—in developing ‘Bad vs. Wild’ further cements the conclusion that ‘Bad vs. Wild’ intentionally ripped off ‘Wild ‘N Out’ to profit off its creative elements, without having to do the work of creating original content itself.”

Viacom says that the similarities between the shows has led to “widespread public confusion” since Bad vs. Wild debuted in 2024. The network claims that Bad vs. Wild damages the older show’s reputation because BvW “features competitions based on harmful stereotypes and offensive content.”

The company paints Zeus’ behavior as part of a pattern of “rip[ping] off other Viacom television shows by hiring (in violation of contractual obligations) talent working on other Viacom productions.” The suit even claims that the two shows have similar logos, and that Zeus’ official Instagram page has called their show “Wild-N-Out on steroids.” As a result, it continues, “Many members of the public have speculated that the shows are affiliated or that ‘Bad vs. Wild’ is a spinoff or reboot of ‘Wild ‘N Out.'”

Viacom is suing for, among other things, copyright infringement, trademark infringement, unfair competition, trademark dilution, and intentional interference with Cannon’s Viacom contract.

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In other Nick Cannon news, he revealed late last year that he was clinically diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), and he’s now opening up about how he’s navigating life with the diagnosis.

Talking to People while serving meals at the Los Angeles Mission’s Thanksgiving celebration, Nick got candid about how he’s seeking help and getting better educated on NPD.

“I still don’t understand it all the way, but I kind of always wanted to get tested for it. I did a bunch of tests,” he said. “I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD. Even as a kid it was dyslexia, but just knowing that I’m just a neurodivergent individual, I kind of always knew.”

He continued: “I feel like there’s so many labels out there, but it’s like, to be able to embrace it and say, ‘Look, I’m healing. I need help. Show me.’ I just embrace mental health and therapy in such a strong way. To be able to say I’m an example for others, but also be healing during the self-process works too.”