He Tried It! Nick Cannon Jokingly Proposes to Ashanti at the 2021 VMAs

Nick Cannon got down on one knee and jokingly popped the question to Ashanti during the 2021 MTV VMAs — see the photos

Ashanti fans everywhere couldn’t help but notice how amazing she looked at the 2021 MTV VMAs on Sunday, September 12, and neither could Nick Cannon.

The Masked Singer host, 40, was so blown away by the “Foolish” singer, also 40, that he stopped her on the red carpet to jokingly propose. Dressed in white pants and a silver sequined crop top, the Drumline actor got down on one knee and pretended to pop the question.

Ashanti, meanwhile, wore a strappy black Michael Costello dress with a split on one side all the way up to her hip. “Ashanti gets finer every year,” tweeted one adoring fan. “Ashanti’s body at 40. I want the cheat code,” added another.

Other social media users couldn’t help but wonder if Cannon was eyeing the singer as a potential love connection. The America’s Got Talent alum, a dad of seven, recently said that he hasn’t ruled out having more kids.

“If God sees it that way, then that’s what I’m gonna keep doing,” he told TMZ earlier this month. “God willing!”

The Wild ‘n Out star welcomed four of his seven kids within the past year. In June, he welcomed twins Zion and Zillion with Abby De La Rosa and son Zen with Alyssa Scott. Six months prior, he welcomed daughter Powerful with Brittany Bell, with whom he also shares son Golden, 4.

He shares another set of twins, 10-year-old Moroccan and Monroe, with his ex-wife, Mariah Carey. The pair split in 2014 after six years of marriage, and their divorce was finalized two years later.

Last month, Cannon said that it wasn’t his “decision” to have children with four different women. “Those women, all women, are the ones that open themselves up and say, ‘I would like to allow this man in my world. And I will birth this child,’” the Roll Bounce star told Charlamagne Tha God during an August interview, adding that he doesn’t “subscribe” to the concept of monogamy. “It ain’t my decision. I’m following suit.”

During an August appearance on Kevin Hart‘s talk show, Hart to Heart, Cannon joked that he isn’t even sure how many children he has. “I’m a dad to a whole bunch of motherf–kers,” he quipped.

When Hart, 42, asked him for an exact number, the “Gigolo” rapper replied, “I don’t know that. You’re gonna put me on the spot? It’s like Spades, I got eight and a possible nine. I like children, damn it!”

Keep scrolling for more photos of Cannon’s faux proposal: