Nelly and Ashanti on diapers: what really happened

Nelly appeared on The Breakfast Club on Oct. 28 alongside Ashanti to discuss their son, Kareem Kenkaide Haynes, known as KK, who is 2 years old. The conversation returned to a moment from the first season of their Peacock series, Nelly & Ashanti: We Belong Together, in which Nelly told Ashanti he would not change their infant son's diapers.

On the show, Nelly said, "I said, 'Baby, I'll give you the world. I just ain't changing no diaper.'" The exchange drew criticism online, where some viewers labeled Ashanti a "married single mother" in response to his comments.

Nelly said on Oct. 28 that he had changed diapers but not on a regular schedule. "I changed them when I said it, but it just wasn't a consistent change," he said. He added, "It's like, yo, if the nanny's within earshot, I'm paying for that."

Ashanti described what happened in the hospital after KK was born. "He actually changed [KK's] very first diaper," she said. "We slept in the hospital room when he was born. He popped up first to change the diapers."

Nelly has addressed the subject before. In December 2025, he spoke with DJ Envy on 96.1 The Beat about the backlash. "Let's be clear. I have changed Pampers," he said at the time. "Even when I made that statement, I have changed Pampers."

In a separate interview with PEOPLE, Nelly said the exchange on the show did not land the way he intended. "It was on our show, so if it didn't come off as a joke, then we are the ones to look at for that," he said. "But yeah, of course I've changed diapers. I think people took a joke and made it into a debate."

Nelly also said his approach to the matter is to provide help through paid care. "My thought process wasn't like, 'Yo, I'm not changing the diaper.' Our conversation was like, 'Listen, I'll do whatever needs to be done, but what I'm saying is that I'm giving you the best help I can get with me and a 24-hour nanny.' See, everybody forgets that part," he told PEOPLE.

Nelly has two older biological children. He also raised the two children of his late sister, Jackie Donahue.

The second season of Nelly & Ashanti: We Belong Together is set to premiere Nov. 19 on Peacock.