If you were looking forward to hearing Britney Spears narrate the audiobook of her upcoming memoir, The Woman in Me, you might be a little disappointed to find out that she’s only narrating a small portion of it. Instead, she's asked Dawson’s Creek actress Michelle Williams to do the honors for her.
Britney revealed that she will only be reading the introduction to the book, while Williams will do the heavy lifting of reading the rest of the story. While it’s not required for a celebrity to do the audiobook narration for their memoirs, that is typically what happens. Britney is anything but conventional, so it’s not surprising that she’s doing things her own way.
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The competition for the narrator gig was stiff.
According to Page Six, there were many female celebrities who were considered as audiobook narrators, but Michelle was chosen for several reasons, including past accolades and her own experiences in the entertainment industry.
Michelle has won two Golden Globe awards, been nominated for one Tony Award, and five Oscars.
Michelle was chosen because of her acting chops.
An insider told Page Six that Michelle "brings a tremendous amount of class and elegance and even a broader audience," which is why Gallery Books, the imprint of Simon & Schuster that is publishing Britney's memoir, chose her to narrate the audiobook.
"[She has an] incredible amount of integrity and stature in the industry. She brings gravitas," the source said.
Michelle has her own complicated past with Hollywood.
Michelle had her own journey to becoming such a well-respected actress in Hollywood. At the age of 15, she legally emancipated herself from her parents to be able to work without restrictions put upon minors. Her parents signed off on the emancipation, allowing her to move from Montana to Los Angeles.
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Britney's story was intriguing to Michelle.
"[Michelle's past] combined with Britney’s really powerful and compelling story and book is what attracted Michelle to it," an insider shared with Page Six. "There was a mutual attraction from all sides based on Britney’s powerful narrative and what Britney went through and Michelle’s own integrity and history with her own emancipation issues."
"I stand with Britney," Michelle said in a statement shared by People..
Britney had a say in who was hired, and she's excited.
"This book has been a labor of love and all the emotions that come with it," Britney said in a statement shared with People. "Reliving everything has been exciting, heart-wrenching, and emotional, to say the least. For those reasons, I will only be reading a small part of my audiobook."
"I am so grateful to the amazing Michelle Williams for reading the rest of it," she added.
