A close-knit family. Ice-T opened up about his special bond with his and wife Coco Austin’s 7-year-old daughter, Chanel — including their unique sleeping arrangement.
“Chanel still sleeps in the bed with us,” the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star, 65, revealed on the Tuesday, May 9, episode of the “That Moment With Daymond John” podcast. “So, I’m so much more connected to her than my other kids, but it’s been a beautiful thing.”
Ice-T became a father in 1976 with the birth of his daughter Letesha, 47, while he was still in high school. Little is known about his eldest child’s mother, Adrienne, other than she was the rapper’s girlfriend at the time. He also shares son Tracy, 31, with his ex Darlene Ortiz.
The actor and Austin, 44, tied the knot in 2002. More than a decade later, the couple welcomed Chanel in November 2015.
“I think the difference with Chanel and my other kids is I’m very conscious of this baby,” Ice-T explained on the podcast. “I had my [first] daughter when I was in high school. I was ripping and running, so it was presents over presence. I wasn’t there. My son … happened right when I was becoming Ice-T. You know, I’d never been famous before, this was a whole new thing, so I’m distracted by that [at the time]. Chanel, I’m comfortable. I’m in a cruise pattern.”
The Equal Standard star said Chanel helped him “create new goals” in life despite having more than 20 seasons of SVU and 10 albums under his belt. “You got that bread, you could start slowing down. But nah, not that new baby, and it’s the best gift I could ever get,” he said.
Earlier this year, Chanel stepped out with Austin to support her famous father at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in Los Angeles. The trio posed for pictures in front of his Hollywood Boulevard star, with Chanel matching the musician’s all-black attire in an adorable little black dress and shoes.
Since their daughter’s arrival, Ice-T and the Think Like a Man Too star have called out the parenting police several times. In July 2021, Austin responded to criticism over continuing to breast-feed Chanel, who was then 5 years old. “Chanel still likes my boobs,” the model exclusively told Us Weekly at the time. “It’s a big bonding moment for a mother and your child.”
She continued: “Why take that away from her? … If she doesn’t want it, all right, that’s where you stop it. But I’m not going to say no.”
Later that year, the California native came under fire again for allowing her daughter to get acrylic nails for her school picture day. Ice-T fired back at the trolls during an October 2021 appearance on The View, stating that his No. 1 rule is to “not pay attention to anything anyone says on the internet.”
The “Colors” singer noted that people should only be concerned with what others say to their faces. “The internet is the world. It’s the world talking, so I don’t pay attention,” he said.
