Last year we learned that Britney Spears landed a reported $15 million book deal for her memoir with Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books, after the publisher won a bidding war. Then earlier this year we got a title, The Woman In Me, and release date, October 24. While there was speculation of the release being delayed due to hissy fits objections from former boyfriends Justin Timberlake and Colin Farrell, those seem to have been resolved without throwing off the schedule. With just about a week to go to release, Britney announced that she will record an intro for the audio book version, but that an actor has been tapped to narrate the rest. And the actor is… Michelle Williams? Yahoo just did a round up of info on the memoir, including details on Michelle Williams’ involvement:
Britney’s story ‘on her own terms, at last’: According to the publisher, Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books imprint, Britney’s memoir tells “her own story, on her own terms, at last.” It covers fame, motherhood, survival, faith and freedom. The 288-page book, which was written with “remarkable candor and humor,” will reportedly go deep into her early life, career and the conservatorship, which stripped her of her rights in 2008 until she finally broke free in 2021. Her father, Jamie Spears, oversaw the conservatorship, and the star continued releasing albums, performing and putting her name on products, from which he earned a percentage of profits, until she refused to perform and alleged conservator abuse in court.
The (likely) origin of the title: It’s seemingly a nod to her 2001 song “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman.” In that song, that appeared on the Crossroads soundtrack, she sings that she’s “just trying to find the woman in me.”
Still no confirmation on a ghost or cowriter: Most celebrities get help writing their memoirs — and it’s expected that Britney, 41, will be no different. It’s been rumored that Sam Lansky, author of Broken People and The Gilded Razor, is her ghostwriter. Lansky has profiled celebrities including Madonna, Nicki Minaj and Adele. This hasn’t been confirmed.
Michelle Williams is recording the audio book: Fans will be able to hear Britney on it, but she won’t be the sole narrator. Britney recorded an intro to the book, but Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams is narrating the rest. She said that while “reliving everything” as she worked on the book “has been exciting,” it’s also been “heart-wrenching and emotional, to say the least.” So she will do the intro and Williams will tackle the rest. Williams said in a statement, “I stand with Britney.” TMZ reported that Reese Witherspoon was first approached, but she was unavailable.
Family and exes will have to face the music: The book is under lock and key by the publisher so far with no advance copies being given to media outlets. That said, Us Weekly reported Britney’s ex Justin Timberlake is “not going to be happy” because she “goes after him hard.” (In 2021, he publicly apologized to her, as well as Janet Jackson, for being a louse when he was younger.) The same article says she gets into her relationship drama with her parents, Jamie and Lynne, and sister, Jamie Lynn Spears. (Her father reportedly won’t be reading it.) No doubt it will touch on her hurtful estrangement from her sons, Preston and Jayden, whom she shares with ex Kevin Federline.
Ex-husband Sam Asghari may not have to worry: Meanwhile, there was no big rewrite of the book after her divorce from third husband Sam Asghari was set in motion. According to TMZ, he wasn’t a major part of the story anyway. He said this week he’s excited for the book and is proud of her.
‘Without handlers, totally unfiltered’: Another source told Page Six that “every huge sensationalized headline is all in there. There are a few bombshells, and you will have empathy for Britney. It’s Britney telling her story, without handlers, totally unfiltered — the good, the bad and the ugly.”
I’m sorry, I get where the title The Woman In Me comes from, but it’s still terrible. It sounds like a joke, when I don’t think it was intended that way. Without Handlers, Totally Unfiltered would have been a better title! That being said, I don’t think there will be any issues with the book selling out. I look forward to seeing comparative numbers between Britney Spears and Barbra Streisand’s respective memoirs, each being released within weeks of each other.
As for Michelle Williams narrating the audio book, I admit it was a head scratcher at first. The more I thought about it, though, the more I liked it! I think it brings a bit of high brow credibility to Britney, to have a five-time Academy Award nominee record her book. And I think it brings an equal amount of credibility to Michelle. It makes her more fun and relatable! Michelle has done so much work being fragile and esoteric, it’s nice to see her taking up more space with characters like Gwen Verdon and Mitzi Fabelman, and now Britney, bitch. While she probably would never have been my first choice for narrating Britney’s life (nor was she Britney’s it seems, and I kinda think Reese Witherspoon might live to regret that decision), I’m fully on board now. She will voice act the bejeezus out of The Woman In Me so much, I may even end up liking the title.
photos credit: JPI Studios/Avalon, Getty and via Instagram
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