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Michelle Williams fans predict EGOT for Britney Spears audiobook – but she’s still got a way to go

Clip of Williams impersonating Justin Timberlake has gone viral

Isobel Lewis
Friday 27 October 2023 11:27 BST
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Britney Spears book excerpt about Justin Timberlake goes viral

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Michelle Williams could be on her way to EGOT status, fans have theorised following her stellar turn narrating the audiobook for Britney Spears’s memoir.

The Dawson’s Creek star, 43, reads Spears’s life story in the audio version of The Woman in Me, which was released on Tuesday (24 October).

While Spears narrates the book’s introduction herself, the singer previously shared that she would not be narrating most of her memoir because she’d found it too painful to “relive” her experiences.

Following the audiobook’s release, fans quickly praised Williams for her depiction of Spears. One particular clip, in which Williams imitates Justin Timberlake adopting a “blaccent” while meeting rapper Ginuwine, swiftly went viral.

In response, fans theorised that The Woman in Me could be the project to secure Williams EGOT status – the acronym given to multi-talented artists who have earned an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.

“Michelle Williams is gonna EGOT thanks to the Britney memoir and I think that’s beautiful,” one fan wrote, while another wrote: “This is the beginning of Michelle Williams’s journey to the Grammys and eventually EGOT.”

For actors like Williams, the Grammy will be the hardest to achieve. She could, however, pick up an award in the category for Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording.

Williams still has a little way to go until she achieves EGOT status. While the actor has an Emmy to her name, picking up the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Television Movie for her role in Fosse/Verdon, she has only been nominated at the Oscars and Tony Awards.

Williams could pick up her first Grammy for the audiobook, fans have predicted
Williams could pick up her first Grammy for the audiobook, fans have predicted (Getty Images)

In 2016, Williams was given a nod at the Tonys for Best Actress in a Play for David Harrower’s Blackbird. At the Academy Awards, she has picked up an impressive five nominations. Her first came in 2006 for Brokeback Mountain, and her most recent was just this year for Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans.

As of 2023, only 23 people have EGOT-ed in competitive categories. The latest to earn the accolade was Viola Davis, who received her Grammy this year for narrating the audiobook of her memoir Finding Me.

One moment from Spears’s memoir to attract attention from readers relates to the singer’s relationship with Timberlake. The musicians dated for three years between 1999 and 2002.

Spears’s audiobook was released this week
Spears’s audiobook was released this week (Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)

In one chapter, Spears recalls how Timberlake and his band NSYNC “loved hip-hop” and “hung out with Black artists”.

“Sometimes, I thought they tried too hard to fit in,” she wrote, recalling how she and Timberlake ran into “Pony” singer Ginuwine in New York City.

“Walking our way was a guy with a huge blinged-out medallion,” Spears recalled. “He was flanked by two giant security guards. J got all excited and said so loud, ‘Oh yeah, fo shiz, fo shiz, Ginuwine. What’s up homey?’”

The clip from the audiobook, in which Williams enthusiastically recreates Timberlake’s accent, went viral on social media as internet users mocked Timberlake.

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