He added that the only reason he responded to the outrageous accusation was that “legitimate media outlets” began reporting about it.
A random accusation became the talk of the world after Orlando Brown shared a video of himself to social media. In the clip, the actor seemed to be walking through a market or a store and while talking into the camera, he offered up some perplexing information. “Nick, I let you suck my d*ck,” Orlando revealed. Nick, you sucked my d*ck. But everybody knows you did it as a female.”
Alberto E. Rodriguez / Stringer / Getty Images
The left-field accusation spread like wildfire until Cannon finally responded. He decided to take the mature route and instead of attacking his fellow actor, He also added that he’d never met Orlando before. In a recent interview with VladTV, Cannon detailed why he decided to issue a “teachable moment” response instead of going off as many others would have.
“When I look at it I [ask], how did we abandon such a talented young dude?” Cannon said. He named a few of Orlando’s acting gigs and called him brilliant. “I used to really watch that kid and love that kid. You see him out on little red carpets and stuff and it’s [like] yo, this kid is poppin’! He gon’ be somebody. And then, you slowly see this turn, whatever it is, I’ve heard various things., just hard times and he’s not the only one.”
Cannon mentioned Underclassman, the film he produced and starred in, and noted that “three or four of the young actors in there committed suicide.” He then partially blamed the expectations from the industry for the fall of many young artists before posing a question to Vlad. He said he’d seen the interview because it could be viewed as exploiting Orlando Brown while knowing that something is wrong with him.
Vlad said it was a fine line, and that what happens on camera isn’t an act because Orlando is the same on and off-camera. Nick didn’t doubt it and added that he knows what a manic episode looks like and while at one moment someone could be viewed as a genius, in another they can begin to hallucinate or become schizophrenic.
“It’s so dangerous as they’re making you laugh in one moment, and the next they’re jumping off of something or they’re slitting their wrists because they don’t have control of their neurons and how fast they’re interacting,” Nick stated. “It’s a little bit more complex and it gets deeper but I can pick up on mental illness probably better than most just ’cause I’ve dealt with it all my life.” Watch his clip below.