- Girls, hang on to your man.

(audience laughing)

Give him a makeover or anew toothbrush or something.

Just(audience laughing)

hang on to your man, 'causethere ain't nothing out there.

- [Efrem] Chonda Piercemakes millions laugh.

These days it's withstories about her life

after the death of her husband

and high school sweetheart, David.

- Usually, he ain't got no shirt on,

beer gut hanging over.(audience laughing)

Let me tell you, if a man hasto wear a bra bigger than me,

I ain't going out with him.(audience laughing)

- So you've been a member ofthe widow's club three years.

- Oh, almost four years now.- Almost four years.

- Could be coming up on five.

- Wow!- 2014 my husband passed away.

The second year was thehardest, I think, for me.

The second year is when people forget

that you were widowed.

The second year is when thesympathy cards don't come,

you know, at all.

We don't do well remembering our widows.

But I'm doing good.

I had a couple of dates.

- Mm-hm!- You know,

enough to know done with that!

(both laugh)

But, oh, never in yourlife is there more time

to become aware of the presence of God

then when you are completely alone,

and I mean completely alone.

My son moved back to California.

We're 1,000 miles away, whichI think he likes it that way.

(Efrem laughs)

I have a child that is not in my life,

and that's still very sad.

But all that to say, this is it.

- Well because you're here,and I think Kathie Lee says

if you've got a pulse,you've got a purpose.

- That's exactly right.- So you've got stuff to do.

- And that's exactly right.

And my heart does go outto those who forget that.

I am in a room every nightwith several thousand women,

and I love, love, love my job.

But I also can see the looks on the faces

of those who have laughed freely

and are having a wonderful time

and those who it was an effort.

They're in a dark place,especially when you ask

how many widows in theroom, and the hands go up.

You wanna go and hug 'em and go,

I promise it feels like thisnow, but life is not over.

- Now a couple of years agowhen the president was elected,

- Yes.

- I was surprised that you were

in the middle of someheat, I thought (laughing).

- You think you were surprised.

I was really surprised.

- If you've ever triedto put on a pair of Spanx

in an airplane bathroom...

- [Efrem] The comedienne faced criticism

and ugly headlines for performingat this inaugural ball.

- When someone asked me myopinion of the election,

and I boldly just said, I'mgonna vote for Donald Trump.

Whoo, in one day I lost 25,000 followers.

And in a 24-hour period, Igained 70-something thousand.

And so the odds were okay.

And these are Christians that were upset

with my jumping in there in the choices.

But I feel very strongly

about when someone asks memy opinion or my thought

that I have to speak truthfully.

And I speak without the worry

or filtering what's thisgonna do to my career?

What's this gonna, now I'm sure my manager

and my publicist wish I wouldfilter that a little bit.

(both laughing)

- That unfiltered boldness

is the premise of herlatest film, Unashamed.

This is your third documentary.

- This is my third documentary,and Efrem, I'm still alive!

(Efrem laughs)Why do they...

I don't know what they'regonna make when I'm dead.

- Oh, no, no, no (laughing)!

- But documentaries are forpeople that are deceased.

Now the first one Laughing in the Dark

I thought I was almost dead.

And then Enough came out.

That was this coming-back-to-lifetime in my life

and it ended happier.

What I love about this movie,

it has very little todo about me, hallelujah!

David and Jason Benhamare identical twins.

They have strong hearts for Jesus,

and (chuckling) they are hilarious.

- [Efrem] In this movie Chonda sits down

with successful people who are unashamed

of their Christian faith, evenwhen faced with criticism.

- HGTV already kneweverything that we believed

before they ever hired us.

- Right.- So they didn't fire us

because of our beliefs, per se.

They fired us because of the pressure

that was put on them.

- From the thought mafia.- Yeah, from the thought mafia

about our belief.

- It is so funny thateven in this day and age,

I've been at this for 26 years,

and I cannot tell you howoften I still get pushback

of, now, you're acomedian and a Christian?

Why is that such a baffle?

And what I worry about

is when you find out your favorite actor

or comedian or somebody,

oh, I didn't know they were a Christian,

I wanna go, now, why didn't you know that?

- (laughing) Yeah.- Because I want the love

of Jesus to be on my life so much

that it doesn't surprise people.

And I think as the world goes on

and I'm no theologian,I'm no Pat Robertson.

(Efrem laughs)

But I read everything he writes, you know.

But I think as time goeson it's gonna get harder

before it gets easierto stand up for Christ.

It's gonna be a time of great pushback.

We are in a place where the church

can no longer be lukewarm.

(upbeat music)

I am not ashamed to standup for the calls of Christ,

to tell you that I believehe is who he says he was.

And I will never be ashamed.

- [Efrem] Efrem Graham, CBNNews, Nashville, Tennessee.

(upbeat music)