Singer Keyshia Cole is here to say -- she is not her boyfriend Niko Hale’s ‘elder.’

According to MadameNoire's Keyaira Kelly, Cole got candid -- and a bit defensive -- about the pair's relationship on a recent episode of Nick Cannon's morning show.

Cole, 37, and Hale, 23, received backlash when they first made their relationship social-media-official. Cannon, who is 10 years younger than his ex-wife Mariah Carey, asked the couple about their age gap.

Kelly writes, “That shared experience with the couple turned annoying when Cannon crossed the line and referred to Keyshia as Niko’s ‘elder.’”

Cannon explained, “To be in a relationship and to start a family with someone like this, I mean, I’ve been in that situation before where I stepped into royalty, to a elder, and she guided me.”

To which Cole promptly responded, “I am not a f***ing elder.”

Cannon did not back down easily, Kelly writes.

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