>> if you're married, you should enjoy one another and it helps to safeguard the marriage from a lot of other problems. >> i don't know why all of a sudden this country decided that we all have to be against each other. >> and keeping america great. >> something that was called the home of the brave, the land of the free, we all agree that we were the same, that's what we want to be. >> this is piers morgan tonight. good evening, tonight the big story, nick cannon, battling back from a serious health scare and speaking out about the fight of his life. nick cannon, you're alive. >> yes, and you just turned my daughter into a boy. >> oh, it's a daughter, i keep forgetting that. >> you were at the baby shower, you don't remember one was a girl, one was a boy. >> my humble apologies. >> it's me who just had a daughter as well. >> congratulations. >> thank you. how are you? >> i'm good, obviously it was a rough start at the beginning of the year. but i'm turning it into a positive. >> when i worked on america's got talent, you were super fit and you used to boast to me about how great shape you were. what went wrong? do you know what happened? >> yes, there was a few things. i feel like the thing that kind of brought it to a head was i wasn't overworking myself, working outtoo much, actually was trying to work through a cold at the time while i was in aspen with the family. and i think that kind of just -- my body went into overload. i was trying to use a bunch of cold medicines, i was already on a bunch of proteins, working out and all of that and it created this pain that i could not deal with in my back and i probably had a feeling, that's probably my kidneys. maybe it's kidney stones from dehydration, maybe it's an infection. but after doing more tests, they actually found out that i had kidney failure. it took a while, took a few months, but through a bunch of tests and studies they found out that i have lupus nefritis. which is is affecting my kidneys. >> i have known you a while and i know from people that know you, it was pretty serious and some of the doctors actually felt it could be very, very serious. >> right. not only is lupus nephritis very serious, but it's the things that it can bring on. so i was more prone to getting blood clots and i was trying to do everything to prevent that, i was wearing the surgical stockings and so many different things while i was in the hospital. and after i hosted the preshow for the super bowl, i started to get pain again and this time it was a little higher and i had two blood clots in my lungs and so i had an enlarged heart too. so there was a lot that really happened because my kidneys were functioning right. >> what was there a moment when you thought i'm in real trouble here? >> i tried to be optimistic the entire time. so i never got to that stage where i was like, okay, this is it, but i new the severity of the situation. so i, you know, i'm a glass is half full type of guy so i never went to that place even though i knew it was very serious. >> my glass is half full. part of me was feeling really concerned for you, and other part of me, the glass half full was thinking maybe i can get back on america's got talent. >> i'm here to tell you you need to slow down too. >> i flew around a lot with you on the show. and you used to tell me about your schedule, and it used to make me exhausted listening to you talk about it. you have this crazy, crazy schedule. you would survive on basically two hours of sleep a day? >> i have now been ordered to get at least six hours of sleep at night. >> are you doing that? >> i have to. the doctor's like, you have to lay down at least for six hours. and not only because of my condition, but you can get a lot of swelling so i have to be horizontal for at least six hours. but i'm dealing with it. they made me quit my morning radio show. which i wasn't excited about. i loved doing it. but on the east coast, i was up at 4:00 a.m. to do a five-hour show and on the west coast i was up at 1:00 a.m. so i wasn't even sleeping. >> you made a documentary about this, some footage. >> the whole process i've been documenting. doing this incredible health hustle. >> facing more health problems. >> some days you have good days. some days are bad days. >> nick suffered mild kidney failure. >> as tough as i want to be on the bad days. >> doctors found two blood clots. >> so, yeah, i'm directing that, i put that together. i have just been since probably my first time out at the hospital in january, i have just been having cameras on and it's real intimate and raw. >> why have you wanted to do that? >> for so many reasons, one to show people how to deal with these illnesses, that they're not alone. a lot of people see me on television talking to piers morgan and different shows. there's so many questions, how did you get this? how are you working through this? you're going to see all of this. i call it the incredible health hustle. >> 17 million americans have some sort of chronic kidney condition. >> a lot of people don't even know they have it. and that's kind of what world kidney day, and kidney month, they're trying to get the message out there, to get tested, it can come from high blood pressure, it can be hereditary. the thing about kidney disease is that people don't really know they have it, because it disguises itself as fatigue. so people like you and me, you think oh, i just need to get some sleep. but it can disguise itself as fatigue to you need to go get yougs checked out. >> how's mariah doing? >> we feel like we have been in hospitals for like almost two years when you think about obviously everything that she went through being pregnant with twins and her having, you know, it was a difficult pregnancy for her and then, you know, like right after that, the top of this year, i'm in the hospital as well. but she is such a pro, she knows all the home remedies, she knows when i'm supposed to take my medicine. >> is she pleased that you're horizontal next to her? >> we're both horizontal next to each other. family is first and, you know, it's a thing where i get to wake up in the morning and i get toed feed my kids with my wife where before i would be at the radio station. this is better, this is great. >> you mentioned that, whitney houston died, as you know a few weeks ago. i covered the funeral for cnn. you tweeted tell our loved ones how much you love them while they're still here, i wish i could have told whitney how much i loved her one more time. tell us more about that? >> it was funny because when we heard the news, i was in my hospital bed. and mariah took it extremely hard because not only was that someone who was her peer, it's also a close friend. just to be able to -- i know what she was dealing with, and how people just started to come and let her know how special she was and how to keep her head up, it's like everybody needs to hear that. you know, we want to send the flowers while the people can still smell them. >> has this whole experience for you made you re-evaluate your life? >> absolutely, 100%. i don't way it put me on a ticking clock because i don't think to think like that. but you want to spend each day making sure it counts. you know what i mean like, not wasting any time, but also not letting negativity and all the things we might focus on that are really trivial, i want to focus on people getting -- there's a legacy of more than just he was a funny guy. i really want to leave this world a better place than before when i got here. >> i don't want to upset you or distress you, but how is america's got talent without me? i know for you it is a massive personal loss. >> it is a quite different show. that's all i'm going to say -- there's a lot of people -- not a lot, i'm lying, there's a few people who miss you and i'm one of them. we had an amazing rapport and wantering back and forth. it's fun. it's a family fun show. so to see what he's going to do, he's filling your shoes quite well. he references you quite a bit. he says you were a great judge. he's a fan of yours. >> any other complements? >> not really. >> i'm glad you're back on track, because i was genuinely worried about you. >> you texted me, called me, you were one of the few people who actually reached out and was really concerned. i appreciate that. >> nick cannon, good to see you back on track. coming up, what would jesus do? s... your doctor will say get smart about your weight. i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's new glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. and they have 6 grams of sugars. with 15 grams of protein to help manage hunger... look who's getting smart about her weight. 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saying that women have to be submissive, succumb to their man's advances and all of that. >> i don't know if i said that. >> you did saya. what was the idea behind that. >> as a pastor, i answer a lot of questions, i do a lot of counseling and finally writing down a lot of things that we have been teaching, my wife and i grace, a as well as a lot of our own story, mistakes we have made and -- >> you translate from friendship into sext. unusually for a man of cloth, you're clean on it. >> if you're married, you should enjoy one another. and it heads off a lot of problems. >> i had sex until i became a christian. i became a christian at age 19. i'm not trying to throw stones at people or pretend that i've done it all right. i was sexually active and i became a christian, and reading the bible i realized i should brnt sexually active and so i stopped and i have been faithful to my wife now for 20 years by god's grace. >> your wife grace, you have this dream after you get married in which you -- >> i have weird dreams, sometimes i see stuff, supernatural stuff. >> tell me about this particular dream. >> it was something that had happened when we were first dating and she was only 17 years of age. i found out some things later in the marriage like my wife had been sexually assaulted. we hadn't put together those details. sometimes when you're married for a u few years, some pieces come together. >> you had a dream where specifically you could envision her making out and you confronted her having after the dream did this happen earlier in her life, and she said it did, you said if you had known that you wouldn't have married her. why is it okay for you and not oak for her? >> this is where we're going to get to jesus, he died, he rose, he forgives me and he helps me and i hope to keep changing and doing better. >> younger people, well, it's all right for you, you had all this sex until you were 19. then you got born again and so you sort of sewed your wild oats and you became the born again virgin. but you're trying to punish them. >> ultimately sex is best reserved for marriage and if you look at the stat it is ticks of sexual assault -- >> there's a lot sexual assault in marriages. one in three ends in divorce you wouldn't contest that? >> marriage is in a rough state. >> and the main theme of keeping a marriage alive is lots of sex. >> friendship, that's the big idea. >> and lots of sex. >> friendship is really the foundation. >> but this book is full, and i don't want to go on about it, but it is full of sex. >> it talks about pornography and and sexual assault. so the talk isn't just about how to do circumstance due solei. >> you said that women should play a more submissive role in the sense that if the man wants to have sex at any time. >> i don't believe that. >> you say zblachlt what we say is a couple should serve one another in the context of friendship and that means sometimes he serves her, and sometimes she serves him. i don't mean that a man should be boorish or bully or boss his wife and if he gives an order, she's supposed to go ahead and do that. because that's very abusive. >> do you believe a woman's place is in the home looking after the children? >> i think it depends on the woman, on the family, all the different variables. i'm a pastor, i have a church they lead, and when you're dealing with people, there's a lot of complex variables. we have five kids, and grace is able to stay home with them and that's what she wants to do. and i'm very grateful for that, but many cannot afford to do that? >> i hold a protestant view that i love and appreciate catholics, i wouldn't hold that position. >> a critic would say, again, you changed your position because you realized that you could haven't contraception as a catholic. >> i couldn't get married as a catholic. that was more of an issue. >> should you be so bending with your religious positions? >> well, for me, honestly it goes back to the bible and i'm trying to look at biblical principles and be faithful to the scriptures. i couldn't have become a priest because the vow of lifelong celibacy wouldn't work for me. so i don't think that sex in all cases is -- >> let's talk about some of the contentions of this. kirk cameron. >> we'll ask you after the break. >> okay. the canadian nudist arsonist cult has decided that the name jesus christ is code word for getting high on mushrooms so then you can get naked and is the things on fire. i guess if you're going to join a cult, join a fun one. >> i mean, you're not your average pastor, are you? >> i have fun. sometimes i get it wrong. >> do too many people in the world of religion take it too seriously? is that part of the problem? >> i think we should take jesus seriously, we should take the bible seriously, we shouldn't take ourselves so seriously. >> are you a -- >> how do you disagree sometimes with people that you love. that's a very difficult issue for everybody, but for a pastor in particular. >> because you reach tolerance? >> i believe we should love our neighbor. >> you keep hammering it. what do you mean by tolerance? >> tolerating people that may have a lifestyle for a belief that we don't agree with? >> you have to. because when jesus says love your neighbor, he knows you're not going to like all your neighbors, but you should accept them and love them. >> i think he thought were perfectly normal christian views, but he did it in a way that was very bigoted toward gays. >> to be honest with you i haven't seen the whole thing. >> what have you heard? >> i saw some of the twitter and the blogging, but that sometimes that's not the best snapshot of the full context of the conversation. >> being gay is a sin. >> people looking at pornography is wrong. there's a long list of things that the bible says are wrong. >> eight states in the united states are legalized gay marriage. >> it's amazing because there were anti-sod my laws and anti-fornication laws on the books just a few years ago. >> but my point is, the bible is what it is, it's an extraordinarily book, which has governed people's moral and personal behaviors for thousands of years. however like everything in life, shouldn't it be dragged kicking and screaming into each modern era? my view about this is not that i don't respect christians or catholics or whoever who absolutely swear by every word in here, i just don't believe anymore who's genuinely christian should be spousing bigoted opinions about sections of the community for their sexuality? >> when it comes to the bible, you've got three options, take it, i believe what it says, leave it, i don't believe what it says, or change it. >> or adapt it to a modern era. >> thomas jefferson, he literally sat down in the white house with scissors and cut out the partsa he didn't feel should be in there. >> more people think that gay marriage is more acceptable than don't in this country. >> we don't know because it hasn't been voted on. >> let's get to the point where there is one day a vote, if it was a joerts of americans believed in it. would have have got on it with? >> the big issue for families in america is really men who walk out on their families. right now, the average child born to a woman under 30 is born out of wedlock. >> that's why whole point. there's so many feckles guys out there. >> they keep having kids, they have no responsibility, they're ghastly. i don't hear christian ones ranting about those guys, all they want to rant about is gay people in loving monogamous relationships with one other person who just want the same rights to get married as i do as a straight guy. >> i hammer those guys like a pinata on cinco de mayo. >> they're irresponsible, for the first time in the nation's history, a woman is more likely to be in church, college and the workforce than a young, single man. there's sexual assault, sexual abuse, abortion, children born out of wedlock, 30% of kids go to bed without a father. >> what is harming a america like many countries around the world is just the fundamental lack of tolerance and respect for people who may not share your personal values. i just think the past is not -- in a great position to trail blaze a bit. to take this great book and bring it slightly kicking and screaming into the modern era a bit. because eventually america will get to that position anyway. and quite fast. >> it's moving fast. >> so it's going to be happen. >> i'm also a guy, i believe the bible. >> it's a good talking point, not your average religious book. >> coming up, montel williams and a very passionate prescription for keeping america great. deep wrinkle night cream. it's clinically proven to give 10 years back to the look of skin. now for maximum results, the power of roc® retinol is intensified with a serum to create retinol correxion® max. it's clinically shown to be 4x better at smoothing lines and deep wrinkles than professional treatments. new roc® r