If there’s one thing Michelle Williams is going to do, it’s effortlessly embody a role. She’s played many memorable characters, from Cindy in Blue Valentine to Mitzi in The Fabelmans, but her most recent portrayal of Justin Timberlake in Britney Spears’ The Woman In Me may be her most iconic to date.
Williams narrates the audiobook of Spears’ hotly-anticipated memoir which chronicles the pop star’s storied career from her Disney days to her involuntary conservatorship. It contains all sorts of juicy tidbits about Spears’ life and her relationships with fellow stars, meaning Williams does some fantastic line readings as 2000s pop royalty.
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In one viral clip, Williams, as Spears, explains how *NSYNC stood out from other boy bands of the era because they “hung out with Black artists,” but that they often tried too hard. Then she recounts running into R&B singer Genuwine on the streets of New York with her then-boyfriend Timberlake: “J got all excited and said so loud, ‘Oh yeahhh, fo-shiz fo-shiz, Genuwiiine, what’s up homie!'” Williams’ performance of Timberlake is so scathing and accurate to a white boy using AAVE that it stops the listener in their tracks — and directs them to their keyboards.
One X/Twitter user posted the clip with the caption, “ijbol.” As one wise reply guy said, “This bout to be the greatest clip of audio since Watergate.” Another quote tweet read, “lol brit got my white sister michelle williams saying WHAT!” Yet another wrote, “(white) Michelle Williams doing an impression of Britney doing an impression of Justin Timberlake doing an impression of a Black person – this is art.”
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Others took a more visual approach. An X/Twitter user resurfaced a photo of Timberlake sporting cornrows, implying he has a history of appropriating other aspects of Black culture.
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If an interest in Spears or early aughts nostalgia didn’t convince you to read the book, Williams’ impression might get you to tune in.