MARIAH CAREY’s husband NICK CANNON has hit out at rumours his famous wife helped him land his job hosting AMERICA’S GOT TALENT – insisting their relationship does not sway potential employers.
The rapper/actor married the Hero hitmaker last year (08) and his career was given a major boost when he was named as a replacement for Jerry Springer, presenting Simon Cowell’s hit TV show.
Carey subsequently appeared on the show in August (09) to perform her latest single, Obsessed.
And ever since, Cannon has been dogged by reports he was handed the host’s job with a stipulation that Carey appeared on the show.
But the 26 year old is adamant the gossip is untrue – because he was hired on his own merit.
He tells Zap2It, “I’ve heard all the rumours that in order for me to get the job Mariah had to say she’d come perform. Like she helped me get the job. I’ve heard all of those rumours but none of that stuff is true.
“What actually happened is she had a hit single out and we got the number one show on TV so it’s the only destination for someone to perform in front of that big of an audience during the summer. She’s a huge fan of the show.”
But Cannon admits he did facilitate the deal for Carey to appear.
He adds, “They were looking for people and I kinda came up with the idea originally to debut her video on NBC and once that relationship got together, they were like, ‘Do you think she would come perform?’ and I was like, ‘Why not? Let’s figure it out!'”