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PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT

Interview with Cynthia Nixon; Interview with Jennifer Love Hewitt; Interview with Serena Williams

Aired May 12, 2012 - 21:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


PIERS MORGAN, HOST: Tonight, sex --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CYNTHIA NIXON, ACTRESS: There are a lot of myths about gay people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: Love.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT, ACTRESS: I dated great people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: And basics (ph).

"Sex and the City's" Cynthia Nixon defending gay marriage and taking on Mitt Romney and the right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIXON: I don't think we've seen an attack on women's health like this in the last 40 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: Also, Jennifer Love Hewitt's racy new role, a sultry suburban mom, on her hit show, the "Client List." Tonight, she talks love, fame, her figure and her scandalous billboards.

Plus, anyone for tennis? Serena Williams like you've never seen her before, in the Olympics, her emotions, her men, and heartbreak.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERENA WILLIAMS, PRO TENNIS PLAYER: I think that's tough to be in love, and then it, you know, it might not work out. And that's life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: And talking of heartbreak, only in America special, Serena and I hit the court with the Wimbledon champ in for a bit of a nasty surprise. This is PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT.

(MUSIC)

MORGAN: Good evening.

Our big story, the race for the White House kicks of probably tomorrow when President Obama's re-election campaign launches in Ohio. It's a crucial battleground state for him and Mitt Romney. Social issues are front and center in the fight.

And tonight we have the feisty Cynthia Nixon as she slams Romney on same-sex marriage and abortion. But she also has strong words for the president. That's coming up.

Also, some risky business for Jennifer Love Hewitt. The turned as Texas mom in "The Client List," offering more than the odd massage to make ends meet. I'll ask her about that controversial role and the uproar over a certain poster campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOVE HEWITT: Living in L.A. for a really long time, I thought the idea was always to have bigger boobs --

MORGAN: Yes!

LOVE HEWITT: -- not smaller. It's quite shocking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: And then match point with Serena Williams. My candid interview from a spectacular court inside Grand Central Terminal. We talk tennis, temper, and why she claims she'll never date again.

Then, it's game on in a match that Serena may want to forget.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

MORGAN: Cynthia Nixon is best known for her role as Miranda Hobbes on "Sex and the City." But early this week, she received a Tony nomination for her role in Broadway in "Wit."

And she joins me now.

Cynthia, welcome. Congratulations.

NIXON: Thank you so much.

MORGAN: It's not like you haven't had a few awards -- two Emmys, two SAGs, a Grammy, now a Tony may be heading your way?

NIXON: Well, I --

MORGAN: Give me --

NIXON: -- I have one from before, so I'll --

MORGAN: Oh, you do?

NIXON: -- I'll treasure that. Yes, I have one from before. Yes.

MORGAN: Is there anything you haven't won?

NIXON: No, no Oscar. No Heisman.

(LAUGHTER)

MORGAN: It's a great role that you play in "Wit."

NIXON: Yes.

MORGAN: It's an incredibly powerful role. At one stage, you're completely bold. You play a cancer victim --

NIXON: That died.

MORGAN: -- who -- who dies. You know, you're naked on stage.

NIXON: Yes, I am.

MORGAN: It's very raw and visceral, isn't it?

And the parallel with your life --

NIXON: Yes.

MORGAN: -- and your family, in fact, because your -- your mother suffered from cancer three times --

NIXON: Three times.

MORGAN: -- but is still, thank God, with us.

NIXON: She's still with us. She's almost 82.

MORGAN: Amazing. You --

NIXON: Yes.

MORGAN: -- you had this battle with cancer in 2006.

Tell me, how much of your battle with it did you bring to the role? Does it actually work like that?

NIXON: It can work like that. But I have to say that my -- you know, you call it a battle with cancer. To me, that seems such a big word. I mean, I feel like I -- I had a cancer diagnosis. I had a very small operation. I went through some radiation and then I was on a -- a particular pill for five years.

So to me, it's not a battle. To me, it was like a -- a medical bump in the road that is not fun, you know, but you kind of grit your teeth and you get through it.

MORGAN: It's scary, though?

NIXON: It's scary. It's scary, but having had my mother go through it, you know, at this -- at that point a couple of times previous and I saw how well she dealt with it.

No, to me, I didn't -- other than my experience of being in the hospital, I didn't draw on anything. I -- I really, you know, I've had some friends who have died of cancer and I've had some friends who have died of AIDS. And so I called on those things much more.

And also, strangely, childbirth.

MORGAN: Really?

NIXON: Yes, because there is a point later on in the play when my character, Vivian, is in incredible, incredible pain. And my only experience with being in --

MORGAN: Was childbirth.

NIXON: -- incredible pain was childbirth. So, yes.

MORGAN: "The New York Times" described your performance as "large and lucid and delicate." A great phrase, I thought.

NIXON: Yes.

MORGAN: You must be very proud of the plaudits you're getting and now that the Tony nomination is up.

NIXON: Yes. I mean, it's -- it's an -- it's an amazing role to be given. And it's such a -- it's such a big canvas, as an actor, to paint on. And also, you get through -- you know, she has so much time on stage where she's hilariously funny, like bringing down the house kind of laughs.

And so even though it takes an enormous amount of energy and focus, the -- you get fed so much by that -- by that audience response. It really -- it energizes you.

MORGAN: And talking of energizing things, you've been quite active on the political front.

Let's play a little clip from a promotional ad you've done for President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIXON: 2011, times were tough. Recession. Joblessness. So many of us struggling to make ends meet.

But for women, times were about to get a lot tougher.

REP. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: The time has come to deny any and all federal funding to Planned Parenthood of America.

REP. DOUG LAMBORN (R), COLORADO: I rise in support of the amendment to remove taxpayer dollars from Planned Parenthood.

NIXON: We remember who turned their backs on us, and who voted to keep us healthy. November is just around the corner. Soon, it will be our turn to vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: I mean, the pretty clear message from that was, look, you know, if you're a woman and you're thinking of where to vote in November, you should be voting for President Obama, not the Republicans.

NIXON: Absolutely. Certainly not Mitt Romney. Certainly not Mitt Romney.

MORGAN: Do you think he's anti-woman, Mitt Romney? With the --

NIXON: That's a very strong thing to say. But I think he doesn't have a sense of -- of women's health, and I think particularly women living in poverty, about how difficult it is to have access to not just contraceptive health care, but general health care.

And I think that President Obama said recently, it was so -- he said women aren't a special interest group. They're -- they're more than half of the population.

And it's not like women are children, you know? Women are half the population and they know how to take care of themselves, if they are only given access to health care. We shouldn't be making these decisions --

MORGAN: But will you --

NIXON: -- for them, but we should let women make their decisions for themselves.

MORGAN: Right. I mean, were you a bit staggered, like many people, by the way the Republican race went in its rhetoric about women's issues?

NIXON: Absolutely. I don't think we've seen an attack on women's health like this in the last 40 years. Yes, I mean, I think these people certainly are -- they're -- they're -- we know they're anti- abortion, but they're also anti-contraception.

But I think this attack on Planned Parenthood, you know, about 3 percent of what Planned Parenthood does is abortions. Ninety-seven percent is women's health.

And like right now in Texas, Rick Perry is trying to shut down and stop all federal funding to Planned Parenthood. Well, 40 percent of the women living in poverty in Texas are served by Planned Parenthood. That is their primary doctor. So what you're saying, then, if you cut all this funding, half of the poor women living in Texas have no medical care.

MORGAN: Being dispassionate, has Barack Obama done enough for women's health issues? I mean, it's obvious that the Republicans have taken a rather strange look at this. But has he done enough as president?

NIXON: You know, there are certain issues on which we can never do enough. But --

MORGAN: Where would you like to see him being bold? If he gets reelected, where do you want to see a bit more grit?

NIXON: Well, I certainly would like to see a bit more grit in terms of gay issues, in terms of LGBT issues. I would certainly -- he has said repeatedly that he'll repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. And I think that that is something whose time has come. That is overdue.

MORGAN: So do you think it would be quite nice to see the president now with eight states legalizing gay marriage, given this clear bandwagon heading that way, it's quite a moment for the president of the United States to stand there and say I support gay marriage.

Do you think he's going to do that --

NIXON: I don't know if he --

MORGAN: -- if he gets reelected?

NIXON: -- I don't know if he's going to do that. And that would be, certainly, an amazing thing if he would do that and I would applaud and I think people all over this country would applaud.

But I -- the thing that I really want from him is the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, which he has said is unconstitutional. And I think that that is something that is very in his -- in his control. And that's for me, that's his task.

MORGAN: You are engaged to be married.

NIXON: Yes.

MORGAN: Now, you were with a man for a long time.

NIXON: For 15 years. We have two children together.

MORGAN: Two children?

NIXON: Yes.

MORGAN: And now you're going to be marrying a woman?

NIXON: Yes.

MORGAN: And that's created a lot of interest and, as you would expect. You said this, which I thought was fascinating: "The fight for gay marriage is often portrayed in political terms, Democrat versus Republican, liberal versus conservative. But for couples like us, this is about something simpler and more personal. I want to be married to my girlfriend.

I want us to have a ceremony. I want all our friends and family to come. I want our kids to be there, just like that historic night last month from the subway platform, I want it to be a moment I will always remember, from death us do part."

I like that.

NIXON: Thank you.

MORGAN: It kind of took all the politics and the stigma away from the whole thing and said, you know what, we just want to do what other people do.

NIXON: Yes, I mean certainly it is a -- it is a political issue. But when you break down why gay people want to get married to each other, they want to get married for the same reasons that anybody wants to get married.

They want to celebrate their love. They want to make a lifelong commitment. They want to gather their friends and family around them and -- and say this is the person I'm going to be with for the rest of my life.

MORGAN: How have you found all the scrutiny on your life? Because you've been, I think, quite brave in the stuff that you've said.

NIXON: It's not been so bad.

MORGAN: You've copped a little bit of flack, but a lot of praise, too. I mean it's one of those things, isn't it, where you -- you put your head over the parapet. Did you expect what was coming your way?

NIXON: You know, when -- when news of Christine's and my relationship broke, there was this tremendous, you know, we were on the cover of two New York daily newspapers. She had, you know, British -- her parents, who live on a little island off of Seattle, had British journalists in SUVs on their lawn. I mean, it was -- it was a wild explosion.

But there was not really too much to say. And so, it sort of came and went pretty quickly. It -- the flame burned very high and then it pretty much has been a kind of a slow ember since then.

MORGAN: When you look at the debate -- and I've had a lot of people in here. We had Kurt Cameron famously came in here and said some pretty outrageous things, I felt, using Christianity as an excuse.

How do you wrestle with people who've got religious convictions about it? NIXON: Well, you know, I think that the thing is that gay people, that there are a lot of myths about gay people, that they are -- they're sick, or they're -- they prey on children, or they're harmful to children, or they're causing the destruction of the -- of traditional straight marriage.

And I think as people personally and on television and all this reading the newspaper, come to see more and more gay families and gay couples, I think that these myths are disappearing one by one, which is great.

And now, we have a whole generation of children -- you know, they say that there are two million children living in the United States who have been raised by gay couples.

MORGAN: I -- I had one of the leading, Zack Wahls came in --

NIXON: Yes.

MORGAN: -- who's an extraordinary young man. And he had both his moms sitting in the audience, which I thought -- I thought was great. And as he said, you know, Kim Kardashian's marriage lasted, I don't know, however many hours it was.

NIXON: Yes.

MORGAN: And he listed a whole lot of other things in his book, which I thought was a smart point to make --

NIXON: Yes.

MORGAN: -- that, actually, it's respecting the sanctity of marriage is much more important, I think.

Are you as happy as you've ever been in your life?

NIXON: I am definitely as happy as I've ever been. Happier, I would say, than I've ever been.

So, yes.

MORGAN: Life is pretty good for you, isn't it

NIXON: Life is pretty good.

MORGAN: I can't let you go without a quick mention of "Sex and the City."

Let's take a little watch of you in action. This is great, this bit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So this is a big apartment to buy for just you.

NIXON: I have a lot of shoes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh. Maybe the boyfriend will move in?

NIXON: No, no boyfriend. Just me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a son who owns his own business.

NIXON: No thanks. I'll take it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: I loved that character.

NIXON: Yes. She's great.

MORGAN: Have you seen "Girls," this new --

NIXON: I haven't, but I -- I am -- I want to very much. It sounds amazing.

MORGAN: Everyone says it's the new "Sex and the City."

NIXON: Yes.

MORGAN: I've read that a few times.

NIXON: Yes.

MORGAN: But it's getting a bit of traction.

NIXON: It sounds amazing.

MORGAN: What do you think "Sex and the City" gave American women? What -- what would you like its legacy to be to American women, do you think?

NIXON: I think that "Sex and the City" showed that it was OK to be single, even if you were in your 30s, even if you were in your 40s, even if you were going to be single for the rest of your life. But that didn't mean you were sitting at home pining by the phone, hoping that somebody would call; that you could have a rich, full life. You could have a rich, full sex life. You could have fun and adventures and work and great friends.

And just because you didn't have a ring on your finger didn't mean that your -- that you weren't happy.

MORGAN: And you are living proof that it can all -- it can all come crashing to glorious utopia.

NIXON: Yes. Yes.

MORGAN: Star of Broadway, blissfully happy in your life. The Tony Awards are on June the 10th, 2012.

It's been a real pleasure, Cynthia.

NIXON: Thank you. MORGAN: Best of luck with it.

NIXON: A pleasure for me, too.

MORGAN: I hope you win.

NIXON: Thank you.

MORGAN: Good luck.

NIXON: Thanks.

MORGAN: Coming up, my interview with the woman who's heating up "The Client List", Jennifer Love Hewitt.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOVE HEWITT: So, six months?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LOVE HEWITT: So we can spend pretty much every minute together?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. See, exactly.

LOVE HEWITT: I can fall even more in love with you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You could.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes, and then it'll hurt that much more when you leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: Jennifer Love Hewitt taking Hollywood by storm in the '90s when she joined the beloved cast of "Party of Five."

Since then, she's been consistently working in film and television, currently starring in what is, I have to admit, my guilty pleasure, Lifetime's "The Client List."

Jennifer, welcome.

LOVE HEWITT: Thank you.

MORGAN: Who would have thought that fresh-faced little girl would become my guilty pleasure in "The Client List?"

LOVE HEWITT: I'm happy to be your guilty pleasure.

(LAUGHTER)

MORGAN: I -- now, I got addicted to this "Client List" when I watched the movie, which I didn't realize was entirely your creation.

LOVE HEWITT: It was, yes.

MORGAN: You came up with it, you produced the thing, everything. You starred in it.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes, it's been almost six years since I sort of, you know, started coming up with the idea, my manager and I. And it's just been great to sort of see it unfold. And it's great.

MORGAN: What was the concept? And I know the -- I know, obviously, what the idea in the -- in the movie was, and now the series. But why did you want to do this?

LOVE HEWITT: There were a lot of articles being written about, you know, single moms' sort of economic hardship and -- and sort of how they were supporting their families and the idea that a lot of women were having to help their husbands make money for the family and everything. And so we just thought it would be a really interesting idea for sort of an -- an ex-beauty queen in Texas with these two kids to sort of find herself in the situation. And people have liked it so far, so --

MORGAN: Who likes it -- is it watched more by men or women?

LOVE HEWITT: It's pretty even, actually. I mean, for -- we've been able to get a lot of guys to come and watch Lifetime, which is nice. I'm excited about that. But, you know, women love it, because it's very oddly empowering for them and -- and there's lots of abs on the show, so --

(LAUGHTER)

LOVE HEWITT: They're really enjoying that part of it.

MORGAN: And it comes at a time when there's this book, "Fifty Shades of Grey" --

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: -- which everyone's referring to. Every woman is reading this thing.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: And you know about this phenomenon, do you?

LOVE HEWITT: I do. I just got my copy. I haven't read it yet.

MORGAN: Right. I mean what it -- the premise seems to be that women get more turned on by the written word --

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: -- and men are more turned on by the visual.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: Is it -- is that basically what this is all about?

LOVE HEWITT: Yes, I think so. I mean, I -- I think that we like to hear things. We like, you know, even in conversations, we like -- I will ask you how your day is, we want a -- a long hour long example of how your day was.

Men are like, how was your day? Great. Are you wearing a bra? Fantastic.

(LAUGHTER)

LOVE HEWITT: You know what I mean? That -- that is how we work.

So -- so I think the "Fifty Shades of Grey" thing is, you know, it's -- it's a real turn on to sort of have all those sexy words.

MORGAN: Well, you gave me a brilliant way in to the next part of this interview, which is your recent appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel," because to tee this up, the -- the promotional material for "Client List," to put it mildly, was a bit eye-popping.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: So eye-popping that they had to remove the original posters --

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: -- because too many cars were crashing, with men all over America driving straight into lampposts and they replaced it with a slightly more measured poster.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: But Jimmy Kimmel decided to -- to save a particular piece of the original for you, a little treasure.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: Let's watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOVE HEWITT: I feel like I'm going to be a little sad now when they take them down. It's been nice to be on billboards.

JIMMY KIMMEL, COMEDIAN: They took the -- we were all sad about it. They took the big one down across the street.

LOVE HEWITT: I know. So soon.

KIMMEL: We're considering filing suit actually. I have a little surprise for you.

LOVE HEWITT: What is it?

KIMMEL: We saw that they were taking it down --

LOVE HEWITT: OK.

KIMMEL: -- and were able to -- Guillermo, come on in here -- were able to actually take one part of the -- we were able to get one square.

(CHEERS)

KIMMEL: So there's -- I don't know if you want to --

LOVE HEWITT: No.

KIMMEL: -- don't know if you want this for your home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: That was brilliant television.

LOVE HEWITT: It was great.

MORGAN: It also gave some idea of the sheer gigantic scale of that poster.

LOVE HEWITT: I mean massive.

(LAUGHTER)

LOVE HEWITT: There's nothing more terrifying in my whole life than turning around and seeing them look like.

MORGAN: Well, we have -- we have actually lined up the two posters here. So let's have a look at what all the fuss was about, because I -- I couldn't really see what was wrong with the original one on the left.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: And the one on the right is just a little bit, well, don't take this the wrong way, but a little bit boring by comparison.

LOVE HEWITT: I think so. I think that, yes, I mean, you know, living in L.A. for a really long time, I thought the idea was always to have bigger boobs, not smaller.

MORGAN: Yes.

LOVE HEWITT: So --

(CROSSTALK)

LOVE HEWITT: -- it was quite shocking to me. I was like really? And to not know who was messing around with them, for me, has been really the odd thing. Like --

MORGAN: Yes, who did that? LOVE HEWITT: -- what person decided, you know what, those need to be smaller, so I'm just going to --

MORGAN: Well, you were the first actress in Hollywood history to have a boob reduction.

LOVE HEWITT: I know, right?

MORGAN: Without any involvement.

LOVE HEWITT: It's very strange. It's very strange.

(LAUGHTER)

LOVE HEWITT: But I did keep the poster from Jimmy, so I'll have them --

MORGAN: You did?

LOVE HEWITT: Yes, they're in my home.

MORGAN: I think, I mean, you must have a big house.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: Where have you put it? Where have you put them?

LOVE HEWITT: I haven't decided exactly where they're going to go yet.

MORGAN: Now, your middle name really is Love.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: And apparently your friends and family all call you Love.

LOVE HEWITT: They do.

MORGAN: Well, we're going to take a short break. When we come back, I want to talk to you about love --

LOVE HEWITT: OK.

MORGAN: -- because you've had a -- a checkered --

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: -- relationship with love.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: Do you think true love is out there, Jennifer?

LOVE HEWITT: I think so.

MORGAN: Waiting to lure you in?

LOVE HEWITT: At some point hopefully.

MORGAN: Let's discuss after the break.

LOVE HEWITT: OK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, baby.

LOVE HEWITT: Kyle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you doing here, baby? Breaking our vows? Huh?

LOVE HEWITT: You left me. It was the only way I could make enough money.

UNIDENTIFEID MALE: Take it off. Huh-uh. The ring. Take it off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: Jennifer Love Hewitt returning to TV with "The Client List," her hit new show on Lifetime, 10:00 on Sundays.

It gets pretty racy there.

LOVE HEWITT: It does. Very saucy.

MORGAN: Now, let's talk about you, because you came to Hollywood three decades ago.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes. Wow!

MORGAN: You know, actually, you don't actually look old enough to have been here three decades ago.

LOVE HEWITT: Thank you.

MORGAN: But anyway, you did. What is -- what is Hollywood like?

LOVE HEWITT: I mean I think it's a great place. It's been great to me. I -- I've been able to live my dreams and met really amazing people and have had a -- have had a pretty good time.

I understand that other people have -- have different, you know, different realities here.

But for me, it's been pretty great. I've really enjoyed it. I feel really lucky to get to be here.

MORGAN: Have you ever been lured into the Hollywood temptations that bring so many of your peer group crashing to the ground?

LOVE HEWITT: No. I mean, I've -- I've worked a lot, so I'm always really sleepy.

(LAUGHTER)

LOVE HEWITT: So I prefer to just go home and go to sleep. No, I've been really lucky. I mean, I've had a really close relationship with my mom and my family has been very active in my life. And so, I've never really had the time to sort of go and get in trouble, so to speak.

So, you know, it's -- it's been a pretty innocent time here for me.

MORGAN: Do you have sympathy for those that do?

LOVE HEWITT: I do.

MORGAN: I mean, look at the Lindsey Lohans and all those guys --

LOVE HEWITT: I do.

MORGAN: -- it seems to me that there is a real pressure that goes with, particularly for young actresses, I think --

LOVE HEWITT: There is.

MORGAN: -- about the -- the obsession -- I mean, you've had this -- obsession with the way you look and, you know, your weight going up and down and so on. It's not easy for a woman, I don't think --

LOVE HEWITT: It isn't easy.

MORGAN: -- to be a famous person in Hollywood.

LOVE HEWITT: No, mentally it's -- it's challenging and it takes a lot of work day in and day out to sort of stay on the right course. And I do feel that, you know, I -- I was lucky enough to come here before there was sort of all of the guys jumping out of the bushes and, you know, taking pictures or luring you into nightclubs so that then they could take a picture of you falling down afterwards, you know, that kind of thing.

That was not my reality here initially. And I do feel a lot of sympathy for the young girls who don't know how to sort of stay out of -- out of that situation.

MORGAN: What about this whole obsession with size zero and skinniness?

LOVE HEWITT: It's hard. I mean, I've definitely gone to events and, you know, they've served me like chicken. And I've gone to eat it and you can hear like other women at the table will be like, is she going to eat the chicken?

(LAUGHTER)

LOVE HEWITT: Like, it's a piece of chicken. Of course, I'm going to eat it. I'm starving, you know? But it's like -- it's a really weird thing. It very strange.

MORGAN: You're -- you're in such terrible shape at the moment.

LOVE HEWITT: Oh, thank you.

MORGAN: We can tell.

LOVE HEWITT: Thank you.

MORGAN: That you're appearing on the cover of "Maxim" magazine.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: And coincidentally, we have a -- a picture.

LOVE HEWITT: Oh, great.

MORGAN: There you are.

LOVE HEWITT: There you go.

MORGAN: You're looking really quite rough, I would say.

LOVE HEWITT: Thank you, yes.

MORGAN: You look like you've really lost --

LOVE HEWITT: I need to get to the gym.

MORGAN: -- lost your way. I think so.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

MORGAN: Do you like doing stuff like that?

LOVE HEWITT: It's fun. It is fun. You know what? I like it because when I'm 80, I'm going to want proof that I had it one day. And I will have lots of proof and so that I'm excited about.

MORGAN: Let's turn to your love life --

LOVE HEWITT: OK.

MORGAN: -- which I've described as checkered. And in the break, you said, checkered is a wonderful way of putting it.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes. I loved it.

MORGAN: You know, checkered, I guess, means that the path to true love is never easy.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: You have found it tricky almost.

LOVE HEWITT: I have. I have found it very tricky.

MORGAN: Why do you think that is?

LOVE HEWITT: I don't know. I mean, I -- I think some of it's been maybe me not in the right head space and choosing, you know, not the right person. I think what I've definitely learned over the last few years is that we tend to choose to be with people based on how we feel about ourselves.

And there have definitely been times where I think I have maybe not felt as great about myself as -- as I should. And so I -- I've settled for something that wasn't what I needed it to be. I will say that even though it's been checkered, I've dated great people that I have --

MORGAN: You have.

LOVE HEWITT: -- a lot of respect for.

MORGAN: I was reading your client list.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes, my client list.

MORGAN: Carson Daly, John Mayer --

LOVE HEWITT: Yes, I know.

MORGAN: I mean, what a run-up.

LOVE HEWITT: Yes, I've -- you know what, they've all been great people and -- and I've made great friends. And I feel really good about that. I would like to find -- I would like to find real love.

MORGAN: Who is the Mr. Perfect? Now, you must have worked out, slowly but surely, the kind of guy you're really looking for. What do you think that person is like?

LOVE HEWITT: I don't know. I'm feeling a bit lost on it at the moment.

MORGAN: Are you?

HEWITT: Yeah. I'm kind of feeling like I have been looking for perfect and it doesn't exist and that's part of the problem.

MORGAN: If there are men watching this interview thinking, she's single?

HEWITT: Yeah. I am. I'm single and massaging men. So I've got it pretty good at the moment. It's not too bad.

MORGAN: In one of the many dreams that you have -- we have already discussed this -- do you dream of a wonderful, white wedding and then having kids and everything else? HEWITT: I definitely dream of kids. Definitely. The wedding part I don't know. I mean, I don't know that I ever have to be fully married. But I would love to spend my life with someone and kids most definitely. For sure.

MORGAN: Now when I went to see you in the green room earlier, you showed me a little call, which I wasn't sure if it was a mating signal or something more sinister. It turned out to be something you do when there's like an awkward moment. We've had a few of those in the last two minutes.

HEWITT: Yes, absolutely.

MORGAN: Like quiz you relentlessly about your love life.

HEWITT: When you said it was checkered, it was a little awkward.

MORGAN: Exactly. When I do that, show me the awkward turtle signal.

HEWITT: So you do this. And there's no words necessary at that point. You just look at somebody and be like --

MORGAN: Can you see how that could also, in the right place, be misconstrued as a mating signal?

HEWITT: Well, sure, I think that would be more like coming at you.

MORGAN: Jennifer, the answer will always be yes.

HEWITT: Thank you.

MORGAN: I love the "Client List." It's on, as I said, on Sundays on Lifetime at 10:00 p.m. You're actually outdoing "Mad Men" I heard.

HEWITT: Yes, which is very exciting, right?

MORGAN: Actually, I was going to ask you, it's a sad day for entertainment today.

HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: The death of the Beastie Boys Adam Yauch. You knew him, I think. You appeared on "Saturday Night Live" --

HEWITT: I did. I got to host "SNL" and he was -- they were the musical guest, the Beastie Boys. And it was really great. They were lovely.

MORGAN: Are you a fan of the band?

HEWITT: I was, yeah, big time. Big time. It was a big part of my growing up. So I find the news really sad.

MORGAN: Yes, he was 47, I think. He'd been ill for a while and died of cancer. But it's a sad day, isn't it?

HEWITT: It is sad. Very solid, very talented and very kind. They were really kind to me when I got to meet them.

MORGAN: Were they?

HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: Kind Beastie Boys.

HEWITT: Yes.

MORGAN: That's nice. Nice way to remember them. Jennifer, it's been a real pleasure.

HEWITT: Thank you.

MORGAN: Very nice to meet you.

HEWITT: Thanks, you too.

MORGAN: Next the smashing goddess of tennis, my candid and surprising interview with Serena Williams. Big question is can she deal with my serve?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MORGAN: I'm here today at the Vanderbilt Tennis Club, which is a rare and exotic new location in the middle of Grand Central Station in Manhattan in New York. And that's particularly appropriate because I'm here with a rare and exotic talent, in the shapely form of Serena Williams.

Serena, welcome to my private little oasis.

SERENA WILLIAMS, TENNIS PLAYER: I didn't know you had this. It's lovely. And now that I know we're best friends, I'll be here all the time.

MORGAN: A little later on, we're going to have a little duel on this very court. I feel like I've come a little overdressed for the occasion.

WILLIAMS: I think you have, too. But that's OK.

(LAUGHTER)

MORGAN: Now the reason I'm excited to talk to you right now is because Wimbledon is coming up.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

MORGAN: Which is obviously my local tournament as a London boy. And then we have the Olympics, also in London.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

MORGAN: And you have never won singles Olympic gold medal. WILLIAMS: I have. I have never won the singles Olympic gold medal. I have two gold medals in doubles, which is really cool. So this time I'll have a chance to go for the singles. We'll see what happens. Hopefully I won't get nervous.

MORGAN: If I said to you, Serena, you could win your fifth Wimbledon title or --

WILLIAMS: That's not a fair question.

MORGAN: -- or you could win your first Olympic gold --

WILLIAMS: Gosh.

MORGAN: -- which would you take?

WILLIAMS: I can't have both? Why can't I have both?

MORGAN: I'll award your one now.

WILLIAMS: I'm going to have to go with Wimbledon.

MORGAN: With Wimbledon.

WILLIAMS: But I'll take a gold in doubles at the Olympics. How about that? Can I do that?

MORGAN: You can do that.

WILLIAMS: OK.

MORGAN: You can do that. Now someone that we both know, my monger John, said to me he spoke to you once about tennis and he's never forgotten this. He said that you said that an opponent may win a game against you, may win a set, may win a match, but they'll never beat you. I love that about you.

WILLIAMS: Wow.

MORGAN: Tell me why you would say something like that?

WILLIAMS: Well, usually when I play matches, yes, the match is in my hands. And like usually like if I make too many errors, I'll beat myself or I'll do that. I have lost a few matches, obviously, that the opponent just outplayed me and they just outright played unbelievable.

But most of the time, the racket is in my hands, which is a really good feeling. But at the same time, it's like, you know, in your hands to win it or lose it, which can be a lot of pressure.

MORGAN: You famously trained with your father and your sister at Compton in Los Angeles, far away from the glamour of Manhattan. What I loved about the way that you trained with your dad was that he, to instill a ruthless winning streak in you girls -- he used to hammer tennis balls at you. WILLIAMS: Yeah.

MORGAN: Hard and fast.

WILLIAMS: Yeah.

MORGAN: And you used to protect yourself with your own rackets.

WILLIAMS: Mm-hmm.

MORGAN: Tell me about that.

WILLIAMS: That was interesting. I think my dad was really a innovative coach. I mean even to the way we hit our strokes and stuff, it was definitely something new coming into the tennis scene. And what's interesting about that is it really developed my hands.

Like I have -- I see the ball so fast. Like when I come to the net, you can fire a ball at me, I get it back.

MORGAN: You were doing like to-hour training sessions at the age of three, you girls. Tiger Woods used to do the same thing when he was young, and his dad used to push him. The critics always say when parents do that, oh, they push these kids to hard. They didn't have a childhood and so on.

But when you look at the incredible achievements that you and Venus have had, do you miss anything of that childhood that you had to sacrifice?

WILLIAMS: You know, when you're younger and you see the playground there, you see other things, you see your friends, or peers, going different places, and it's like, you know, you want to try that or you want to do that. And you -- as a kid, you don't know that the best thing for you is that moment right now training.

And as you get older, you'll -- I think like thank goodness that I was pushed to stay out there, and that I didn't quit and I didn't give up. Because it's so worth it, you know, when you're at the Olympics or you're at Wimbledon or you're at, you know, other tournaments. It's like all that hard work goes in to play.

MORGAN: When you and Venus -- and I know when you play see other in tournaments, and one beats the other one, it's always big hugs, love you sis and all that. But when you're playing when no one's watching, one-on-one.

WILLIAMS: We never play --

MORGAN: I mean, you must be like other brothers and sisters. I mean --

WILLIAMS: We never play when no one's watching. I hate playing against her. Like sometimes we practice against her, and she's amazing to practice against. But then I get competitive a little bit. Like the other day, we were practicing together, and I was serving against her. She was hitting winners and I was so mad.

MORGAN: If you were both in peak fitness, at the peak of your powers, and you could play one set, and the punishment for the loser was that you would have all your limbs cut off --

WILLIAMS: You and these questions!

MORGAN: Terrible hypothetical.

WILLIAMS: Oh, my goodness.

MORGAN: But I want you to imagine the worst case scenario. So you have to win this set. Who would win?

WILLIAMS: First of all, I definitely think it would be in -- go to a tie break, because we both have amazing serves. We both have really good returns. I couldn't say I would lose.

MORGAN: Who's more ruthless when it really comes to it?

WILLIAMS: I'm really, really ruthless out on the court, but so is Venus. So I don't know. I can't sit here and say she would win. So I will say I would win. But I'm sure if she was sitting here, she would say she would win.

MORGAN: You realize you just sentenced your sister to having all her limbs cut off?

WILLIAMS: If it was down to limbs, they could take my limbs. She has more going for her. She has a great life. So they can have my limbs, so I would lose.

MORGAN: Last time I saw you play for real was at Wimbledon, about three years ago. And you were playing I think a quarterfinal game against a tiny Eastern European waif. It was the single most brutal thing I have ever seen on any sports arena ever.

WILLIAMS: Now you're making me feel bad.

MORGAN: You didn't feel bad at the time.

WILLIAMS: Oh, yeah.

MORGAN: I was like inwardly -- like I wanted to get on the court and rescue this poor girl.

WILLIAMS: Oh, no.

MORGAN: It was a high form of brutality that was going on.

WILLIAMS: Yeah.

MORGAN: You just obliterated her. But what I was struck by was that the longer it went on, that just the more ruthless you became, the more in the zone, the louder, the more physically empowering. It was the most impressive thing I've seen in sport for years. What do you feel? When you're going through that kind of process, you're in the zone --

WILLIAMS: Yes.

MORGAN: -- and you're winning, what do you experience?

WILLIAMS: Well, when you're out there, you have to take the winners attitude, at least I do. And I can't go out there thinking I'm feeling sorry because they're trying to win, too. And this is my job. My job is to go out there and do the best that I can at that moment in time, because you never know what happens tomorrow.

For me in that moment, like, it's important for me to continue to get better and not just stay at one level. And that's what I try to do. It's hard. Like sometimes I know mentally like I'll play for a little while and then I'll drop and then I'll go up and I'll drop. So I'm just always trying and I'm always working on staying on one level field, which is -- which is really not easy, especially if you're playing at such a competitive high, a competitive level. It's really hard to stay in one place.

MORGAN: Who were your heroes or heroines? Who are the people, in any sphere of life, historically or now, that you really put on a platform?

WILLIAMS: Well, I think I mean -- I never really got to see him fight, but I loved Mohammed Ali. I always watched film of him and how good his feet were and how amazing he was. I thought he was really cool. It's so funny, with the Olympics coming up, my dad always had us watch Olympic stories. And we were way too young.

But in particular, he had us watch I think it was the '84 Olympics. But he had recorded it and I guess he saved it. We used to always watch Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Greg Louganis and how he was able to do what he did in the diving arena. And that's like a story I'll never forget.

So that was so inspiring for me as an athlete, to look up and to be inspired by that.

MORGAN: Let's take a short break. I want to come back and talk to you about love.

WILLIAMS: Forty-love?

MORGAN: Not 40-love. This love. This kind of love, Serena.

WILLIAMS: OK.

MORGAN: Brace yourself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MORGAN: Back with my special guest Serena Williams. Serena, you are a very good Tweeter on Twitter. WILLIAMS: Thank you.

MORGAN: You have more followers than me, 2.4 million, which is very annoying, but you do. And you Tweet the most fantastic pictures, because they sort of tell your life as it unravels.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

MORGAN: This one, for example, these are your feet after you had this awful illness. And I saw you --

WILLIAMS: Isn't that crazy?

MORGAN: -- in the middle of this. This was near this blood clot which became very nasty. Tell me about that.

WILLIAMS: Well, I had that horrible blood clot, which was -- you saw me right before that happened.

MORGAN: I did.

WILLIAMS: Literally like a day. And you know, that turned my whole world upside down. But anyway, I have to tape my feet when I go out and play. And that's what I look like before every match. It's pretty intense. It takes like 20 minutes to do that.

MORGAN: Like an Egyptian mummy.

WILLIAMS: Yes. Everything is taped except for like a couple toes. It's totally insane.

MORGAN: This I love. This is how you have --

WILLIAMS: Isn't that amazing?

MORGAN: This is your private jet boudoir.

WILLIAMS: Upgrade.

MORGAN: That is unbelievable.

WILLIAMS: I know. I love that picture. I kind of turned it into my room. Usually I put my computer on the bed and all kinds of stuff. It's very comfortable. Travel in comfort.

MORGAN: Now we come to my favorite pictures. Because when it's like a wet Wednesday, especially if I'm back in England, it's raining, it's cloudy, I get on Twitter and I hope, I wonder if Serena has been to the beach today. And if you have, then we get these popping up.

WILLIAMS: Rawr, you know.

MORGAN: In our in tray.

WILLIAMS: That one was one. I was just hanging out on the beach that day, having fun, and -- MORGAN: You wanted to share that with the rest of us?

WILLIAMS: Yeah. I thought everyone should -- should feel like it's warm. Not everybody can have fun in Miami.

MORGAN: This is one I particularly enjoyed as well, Serena.

WILLIAMS: My friend wanted me to post that.

(CROSS TALK)

WILLIAMS: OK. So next time I'm burying someone in the sand --

MORGAN: Would you like to bury me in the sand?

(CROSS TALK)

WILLIAMS: I'll definitely keep that in mind.

MORGAN: Now, here's the strange thing about you. I look at you, I see this beautiful woman, 30 years old, and in her absolute prime, looking a million dollars, funny, smart, brilliantly talented, single. How?

WILLIAMS: Yeah.

MORGAN: How can you be single?

WILLIAMS: You know, I think it has a little bit to do with my career, and you know, just making some decisions that aren't the right -- yeah.

MORGAN: You recently Tweeted you'll never go out with another man again.

WILLIAMS: Yeah.

MORGAN: Do you know how many hearts broke all over the world when they read that?

WILLIAMS: Well, I hope not.

MORGAN: Can you now withdraw that Tweet?

WILLIAMS: No, I'm not going to withdraw that Tweet.

MORGAN: You're not going to never go out with another man again, are you?

WILLIAMS: You know, I'm not ready yet. I'm still trying to get over something, you know? So I think that takes time. I just am -- I just can't see myself ever like doing anything.

So I'm good. Yeah. I'm good. I'm in a good space where I'm just trying to get --

MORGAN: That sounds like a terrible space. Doesn't it?

WILLIAMS: It's not a fun space, actually. It's not fun at all. But it's life. Life.

MORGAN: Are you a romantic by nature?

WILLIAMS: I am. I am a hopeless romantic. I'm too much of a romantic. And I get -- I'm really passionate. Like when you see me on the court, I'm really intense. I'm really passionate. And that just carries on for everything I do, whether it's love or whether it's fashion or whatever. So I might be a little bit to intense.

MORGAN: How many times would you say you have been properly in love in your life?

WILLIAMS: Probably just once. Definitely just once.

MORGAN: Once?

WILLIAMS: Yeah. One time. And, you know, I think that's tough, to be in love and then it, you know, might not work out. Then it's life. There I go again. Life.

MORGAN: You have been through heart break.

WILLIAMS: Mm-hmm.

MORGAN: It's bad, isn't it?

WILLIAMS: Yeah. I mean, I think everyone kind of goes with that. But it definitely is a good feeling. I think having surgery is definitely a lot easier. Having a pulmonary embolism is definitely a lot easier than heart break.

MORGAN: One more hypothetical, you can either go through this heart break again or you can lose the final of the Wimbledon singles tournament this summer. What would you choose?

WILLIAMS: I don't want you to put that on me?

MORGAN: I'm just curious. Your answers are always fascinating.

WILLIAMS: I don't see an end to my career. I see myself continuing and building. And I feel like my body is super healthy. I feel really good. So I would have to say losing a final at Wimbledon.

MORGAN: As we head towards what's going to be a very exciting summer for you -- it really is -- there are two things that you got which I -- normally shameless promotional things I don't like doing. But these are great. This I didn't even know existed.

So this -- you go like this, and then it goes completely --

WILLIAMS: I love that you love it. Because it's so true.

MORGAN: For the viewers' point of view, what are they called? WILLIAMS: They're -- our mission -- Missions is one of the companies that I'm owner of. Like literally you can put this in boiling hot water and then you -- when you activate it by doing that and you put in on your neck, it stays cool. I love that.

MORGAN: It's unbelievable. The other thing that I like, because you have the same problem as me, which are these things.

WILLIAMS: Sleep sheets.

MORGAN: This could be the secretly to my chronic insomnia.

WILLIAMS: You know, it's helped me out a lot with plane trips. Sometimes -- this is natural Sleep Sheet, so it has melatonin on it.

MORGAN: You put them on your tongue.

WILLIAMS: It's a dissolvable strip that you put on your tongue. It evaporates. It gives you lots of rest. And like literally, it helps me relax before I -- to go to sleep. So I love it. It's great.

MORGAN: I'm going to try this, Serena.

WILLIAMS: I wouldn't try it now because if we're going to play then --

MORGAN: You fancy a little game, do you?

WILLIAMS: I mean, do you?

MORGAN: Do I?

WILLIAMS: You said some fighting words earlier on Twitter. We haven't squashed our beef yet.

MORGAN: I have wanted to squash my beef with you for a long time. Are you going to change or is this --

WILLIAMS: I might throw on some Nikes.

MORGAN: Get your Nikes on. I'll see you back on this court. Serena, it's been a pleasure. But the pleasure stops right now. Game on.

Coming up, Only in America, I show Serena Williams how to really play tennis the old school style.

WILLIAMS: This is crazy. I have never played with a wood racket.

MORGAN: Yes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MORGAN: I'm from Britain. Serena is obviously from America. This is a kind of tennis version of the Ryder Cup. The thing is, she thinks we're going to be using these fancy new racquets that they always use these days, which is cheating really. So give me that. Let's give her those.

WILLIAMS: Oh, come on.

MORGAN: Billy Jean King was Tweeting earlier some advice for me. And when Billy Jean King won Wimbledon -- you know, when Wimbledon champions use real racquets, they use these little babies. So what's good enough for Billy Jean is going to be good enough for you, Serena.

Good luck.

WILLIAMS: I have never played with a wood racquet.

MORGAN: Don't want to hear the excuses. Balls, please. Going to feel the power.

WILLIAMS: Oh my, God. You're good.

Here we go. Oh, my God. That was out. This is so heavy. OK. Here we go.

MORGAN: Just to clarify, the four times winner of Wimbledon doesn't want to play with the old racquets. So now that she's got her little serve back, try my serve.

(SINGING)

MORGAN: Was it in?

(CROSS TALK)

MORGAN: You can't be serious! That ball was good!

WILLIAMS: It was out. Definitely out.

MORGAN: Try to go with it better this time, yes?

(SINGING)

MORGAN: Yes! Yes! Yes!

WILLIAMS: Oh, come on.

MORGAN: Yes!

WILLIAMS: That was nice. You did good. You beat me. Good job. I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you. It wasn't Wimbledon.

MORGAN: Don't get down. You're a good player. It will come again.

WILLIAMS: Yes?

MORGAN: You will.

WILLIAMS: Yes, OK.

MORGAN: Thank you for a nice game. Fancy a drink?