Nick Cannon, who has fathered 12 children with a half-dozen women, one of whom is freaking Mariah Carey, appeared to be on the hunt for a mother for his 13th child. On March 7, Cannon tweeted that a reality show called Who’s Having My Baby? would premiere on E! in the spring.

The twist? He lied. This whole thing is a joke. The elaborate bit was orchestrated by Kevin Hart for a sketch show that will be included in an upcoming project for NBCUniversal, per Variety. “According to insiders, all will be revealed as soon as tomorrow, as Hart continues to expand his empire with another comedy franchise inside the NBCUniversal universe,” the outlet reported on March 8. It feels like Cannon and Hart should have given Nathan Fielder a call for this…. 

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Even E!’s official Twitter page was in on the joke, tweeting, “We’re def not kidding around! So excited for this!”

Responses to the ethically unsound TV show online were almost universally negative when it was announced on Tuesday. Comedian Loni Love had perhaps the most industry-accurate take, which is that this is the kind of content cable will need if the Writers Guild of America goes on strike.

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