Nick Cannon and Alyssa Scott are celebrating their late son Zen.
The Masked Singer host took to Instagram on Sunday, June 23 to share a photo of Zen, who died in December 2021 after being diagnosed with brain cancer. He would have turned three years old.
“Today is the day we celebrate the life of my little guy Zen Scott Cannon, truly an Angel so every 6/23 is a tough one,” Cannon captioned his post. “But the goal is always to try to turn pain into purpose. I love you Zen. Your light will shine forever my Son. #ZensLight.”
Scott also acknowledged the date and posted a tribute of her own on her Instagram Stories. She posted a sign with a black and white baby photo of Zen which read: “Celebrating Zen’s light. June 23, 2024.”
The former couple also share an 18-month-old daughter named Halo Marie.
Cannon announced the death of his son on his talk show, Nick Cannon. “Today is a special one y’all for many reasons but it’s not gonna be an easy one. I haven’t even shared this with anybody, not even the crew,” he said at the time. “I had a very tough weekend.”
During that episode, he explained that concerns first began when he and Scott noticed their son’s head seemed larger than normal for a boy that was only two months old.
“He had this real interesting breathing and by the time he was two months old I noticed… he had this nice sized head, I called it a Cannon head. We didn’t think anything of it, he had a normal Cannon head. But I wanted to take him to the doctor to get the breathing and the sinus thing checked out,” he said. “We thought it would be a routine process.”
After taking Zen to the doctor, they discovered a build up of fluid in his brain as well as a malignant tumor that had to be surgically removed.
“We were faithful and hopeful for that time. We carried on, he was still just playing with his brothers and sisters, I embraced every moment,” Cannon said. “Zen’s mom, Alyssa, was just the strongest woman I’ve ever seen. Never had an argument, never was angry. Was emotional when she needed to be but always the best mom, and continues to be the best mom…”
However, Zen’s tumor quickly grew before he passed away.
“I didn’t know how I was gonna handle today but I just really wanted to grieve with my family, people who love you. I didn’t want to make it about any pageantry so I kind of went back and forth of what I should do but I was always taught, you go through it you grow through it, you keep pushing,” Cannon told his audience at the time. “I’m here to show that I can fight through this, I’m feeling it, I’m vulnerable, I’m open. This is a special show dedicated to my beautiful son Zen.”
One year later, in 2022, both Cannon and Scott announced that they would be starting a foundation in Zen’s honor called Zen’s Light.
“June 23rd will forever be a day of celebration. A beautiful lighting ceremony to honor the life of an Angel. Zen’s birth has now transformed into ‘Zen’s Light,’” their joint Instagram post read.
“We are proud to announce his new foundation that will help so many others in this world. ‘Zen’s Light’ mission is to foster global excellence in hope, grief care and pediatric healthcare for families and children in need.”
