Nick Cannon on ex Mariah Carey's New Year's Eve flub: 'She got a little flustered'

Nick Cannon says he believes ex-wife Mariah Carey's got "a little flustered" during her now-infamous New Year's Eve performance.

Carey made global headlines with her Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest headlining set, which, leading up to midnight, went careening downhill as she got to "Emotions" and "We Belong Together." With the singer apparently unable to hear through her in-ear monitor, she removed it completely. Then, unable to follow the backing track over the noise of the crowd, Carey eventually abandoned singing and lip-syncing altogether as she became frustrated.

In an interview set to air on Monday's The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Cannon said that it was simply the nature of live TV.

See photos from Mariah's performance:

"Anyone who knows about performing [knows that] things like that can go wrong on live television," he said. "I do live television all the time; I screw up on America's Got Talent all the time, so when there are people in your ear saying things and stuff, I think she got a little flustered. But being the diva she is, she said, I'm just going to walk around and pose for seven minutes. And like Ryan Seacrest says, she can do no wrong. So she worked through it."

Read more: Mariah Carey Suffers Epic Lip Sync Snafu on 'New Year's Rockin' Eve'

DeGeneres and Cannon also joked that people in the Times Square crowd didn't seem to mind. "They were like, 'She's amazing, and her lips aren't even moving'," he quipped.

See photos of Mariah Carey through the years:

The singer has blamed the production team for her flub, but Cannon joked that he has a conspiracy theory that the government is to blame: "They set her up; that was a distraction."

Cannon also talks about why he's taken to wearing a turban ("I feel royal, mixed with Mommy Dearest," he quipped) and the impending arrival of his new baby, revealing that he's having a boy. Watch the interview below.