Michelle Williams and Britney Spears are both wildly successful in their own careers — and now, their resumés are about to overlap for the first time.
Williams, 43, has been tapped to narrate the upcoming audiobook for Spears’ The Woman in Me, according to People. “I stand with Britney,” the Fabelmans actress told the outlet about the 41-year-old singer.
Spears announced in July that her debut tome — titled after lyrics in her song “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” — would be released on October 24, 2023, through Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books imprint.
“Britney’s compelling testimony in open court shook the world, changed laws, and showed her inspiring strength and bravery,” publisher Jennifer Bergstrom said in a press release. “I have no doubt her memoir will have a similar impact — and will be the publishing event of the year. We couldn’t be more proud to help her share her story at last.”
According to a book summary, The Woman in Me is an “astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival and hope.” The book will allow Spears to tell her own stories “on her own terms,” per the press release.
Spears has frequently given teasers of her writing process via her Instagram, while a source exclusively told Us Weekly in March 2022 that she “will hold nothing back” in terms of the subject matter.
A second insider told Us earlier this month that the Grammy winner is planning to rehash details of her past relationships, including her romance with Justin Timberlake. “[He’s not going to be happy,” the source added in the latest issue of Us Weekly, noting Spears “goes after him hard.”
Despite sharing her truth about troubled relationships — including those with parents Jamie and Lynne Spears — Britney does not intend to “skewer anyone” with her words.
“She’s just going to relay the facts from her perspective,” another source said in October.
Additional details about Britney’s literary work or Williams’ involvement have yet to be revealed. The two women (sort of) already have a history together.
Back in 1999, it was reported that Dawson’s Creek — the show that catapulted Williams to fame — had eyed Britney for a guest-starring role.
“I’m gonna be filming that in October [and] I’m doing, like, three episodes,” Britney teased to Entertainment Tonight at the time. “I think I’m supposed to be — they just told me yesterday — a dork, which is fine.”
Britney also gushed that she was looking forward to taping her episodes because “[she loves] the show.”
Britney did not end up making a cameo on the teen series, though did sign a TV development deal with the Dawson’s Creek studio, Columbia TriStar Television, to develop her own show.
“They have a great expertise in that area,” Britney’s rep Rob Lee told CNN in March 1999. “Look at the Brandy experience [with Moesha]. One doesn’t have to hurt the other, one feeds the other. The key is to time it so one doesn’t get in the way of the other.”
The Woman in Me, currently available for preorder, hits bookstore shelves on Tuesday, October 24.
