Nick Cannon showed off his newest tattoo honoring his late 5-month-old son, Zen Scott Cannon. As Blavity previously
reported, the host announced on his show that his son died of brain cancer on Dec. 5.
Cannon's newest piece of body art was revealed during his "Pic of the Day" segment.
"This is a week where I've seen so much love. More love than I've probably ever experienced, so even in the midst of a loss, I gotta say thank you to y'all," he said, prefacing the news.
He flashed a photo of his rib with angel artwork on it for the studio audience.
"Last night, I got the opportunity to go get a tattoo of my son Zen as an angel on my rib," Cannon said.
"I'm still all bandaged up and it hurts right here right now. … It was a lot of pain, but it was so well worth it," he continued. "I enjoyed every moment of the experience to forever have my son right here as my rib, right here on my side, as my angel."
On Instagram, the comedian shared a complete look at the experience — he posted a video of his tattoo process, including his tearful reaction to seeing his son memorialized forever on his skin.
"I've seen so much love this week. I can't say THANK YOU enough. I will always have this angel with me. #NickCannonShow #PicOfTheDay," he captioned the post.
Since the tragic loss, Cannon took the chance to pause from the typical funny tone of the show to discuss serious topics such as the grief and trauma that he and his family have been experiencing.
"Because with the transition of my youngest son, Zen, I felt like it was important to talk to someone who knows how difficult it is to lose a child, who just has great counsel. Over the weekend I lost my youngest son to a condition called hydrocephalus that is pretty much a malignant, midline brain tumor — brain cancer. So I invited my friend, my therapist, to talk about love and loss,” Cannon said on an earlier episode.
He also addressed fans who questioned why he would go back to work so soon after going through such a devastating loss.
"A lot of people keep asking me like, 'Man why are you even at work?' Especially my family members: 'Boy you need to go sit down somewhere, you got too many jobs already. Allow yourself to just be yourself,'" Cannon shared during the Wednesday taping of his show.
"And I appreciate that, all of that advice, and I know it comes from a place of care. But to me, this isn't work, this is love," he said.
