Nick Cannon Is Quitting America’s Got Talent Because Of A Controversial Joke

America's Got Talent has had some changes since it debuted in 2006, with a bevy of judges and hosts, but America's gotten pretty used to seeing Nick Cannon emcee the talent extravaganza. However, Vulture reports that America might see a new face this year. Cannon won't be returning to the NBC show, citing censorship from the network. Rumors stemmed from a joke that Cannon made while filming his Showtime special, Stand Up, Don't Shoot and his subsequent promotion of the show. According to his social media accounts, Cannon claims that the purpose of the special was to bring people together, not cause any sort of controversy. Cannon adds that he's loved hosting the show (he's done the duties for eight seasons), but that his "soul won't allow me to be in business with corporations that attempt to frown on freedom of speech, censor artists, and question cultural choices." Cannon posted a long explanation on both Instagram and Facebook, saying that AGT and NBC may not be the right fit for his own talents if he's constantly being scrutinized for his own comedy.

"After days of deliberating over some extremely disappointing news that I was being threatened with termination by Executives because of a comedy special that was only intended to bring communities closer together, I was to be punished for a joke," he wrote. "This has weighed heavy on my spirit. It was brought to my attention by my 'team' that NBC believed that I was in breach of contract because I had disparaged their brand. In my defense, I would ask, how so? Or is this just another way to silence and control an outspoken voice who often battles the establishment?"

"Maybe it was my mistake for signing the contract in the first place, in which I will take full responsibility and have already taken action to restructure my own team of advisors," Cannon added in an additional post. I now have to set out on a journey of freedom as an artist." Don't expect him to take this lightly. Cannon says that he loves entertaining and performing too much to stop — he added that he plans on striking out on his own, because, "You can't fire a [boss]." You can read the post in full, below.