‘Super Dad’ Nick Cannon Gets Sentimental About His Lupus Diagnosis While Showing Off Louis Vuitton Iron Man Helmet

The father of 12 was diagnosed with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that has no cure, in 2012

Jan 4, 2025 - 09:02
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‘Super Dad’ Nick Cannon Gets Sentimental About His Lupus Diagnosis While Showing Off Louis Vuitton Iron Man Helmet

The father of 12 was diagnosed with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that has no cure, in 2012

Nick Cannon/YouTube Nick Cannon wearing his Louis Vuitton Iron Man helmet

Nick Cannon/YouTube Nick Cannon wearing his Louis Vuitton Iron Man helmet

Nick Cannon has a deep reason to call himself the “Black Tony Stark.”

During a recent house tour of his “Cannon Estate,” the father of 12 got sentimental about a past health scare. Cannon, 44, reflected on the time in 2012 when doctors diagnosed him with lupus.

In the Dec. 31 YouTube video of the house tour, featuring his and ex Mariah Carey’s twins Moroccan and Monroe, Cannon gave an emotional reaction to seeing his Louis Vuitton Iron Man helmet.

“I’m a huge Iron Man fan because Iron Man almost lost his life, and when he got down to the bottom and they thought it was over, that's when his superhero activated,” he said before discussing his autoimmune disease.

“I connected with that because of my lupus, so when I got lupus, I was like, ‘That's my superpower,’ ” he continued. “So ever since then, especially the first Iron Man movie, shout-out to Robert Downey Jr. But actually even before that, the comics, somebody had gotten the Iron Man comic.” 

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“I'm the Black Tony Stark, baby,” he concluded after putting on the helmet.

Cannon previously opened about living with lupus, which the Mayo Clinic describes as a chronic disease that “occurs when your body's immune system attacks your own tissues and organs” and subsequent inflammation affects “joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart and lungs.”

In 2022, the Mask Singer host marked 10 years of being on his lupus journey in a video, saying, “I experienced a sudden and mysterious illness that almost took my life. At the time, I had no idea it was lupus.”

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“And, you know me, I always have to have a camera on,” he continued. “So I would literally open up my phone, grab my camera and I would talk to the camera, and I documented the entire health journey.”

John Sciulli/WireImage Nick Cannon in 2012, the year he was diagnosed with lupus

John Sciulli/WireImage Nick Cannon in 2012, the year he was diagnosed with lupus

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At the time of Cannon diagnosis, he was married to Carey, 55, before they split in 2016. The pair's twins "Roc" and "Roe," born in April 2011, are now 13 years old.

In April 2024, the entertainer called himself a “lupus warrior” when he shared an Instagram Stories snap while getting blood work done.

“Constant reminder that health is the real wealth!!! #lupuswarrior