“The Fabelmans” and “Brokeback Mountain” actor will narrate the audio edition of Spears’ upcoming memoir, “The Woman in Me,” according to Simon & Schuster Audio, which is releasing the Gallery Books title.
Grammy winner Spears, 41, will record an introduction to the audiobook and Williams will narrate the rest of the memoir, which is expected to illuminate Spears’ life under her tumultuous 13-year conservatorship and touch on “freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope,” the publisher has said.
“This book has been a labor of love and all the emotions that come with it,” Spears said in a statement to 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.”
The “Toxic” and “Hold Me Closer” singer added that she’s grateful to “the amazing Michelle Williams for reading the rest of it.”
“I stand with Britney,” Williams added in a statement from Simon & Schuster Audio. A representative for the Oscar-nominated star did not immediately respond Friday to The Times’ request for further comment.
“The Woman in Me,” which reportedly came out of a $15-million book deal, will be released Oct. 24 by Gallery Books — an imprint of publishing giant Simon & Schuster — and the audiobook will be published simultaneously with other editions. Spears said in late September that she’s “doing the [finishing] touches on it” and has previously described the writing process as “hard,” “healing” and “therapeutic.”
However, the memoir is not expected to include content about the singer’s July separation from her third husband, Sam Asghari, who filed for divorce in August after 14 months of marriage. TMZ reported in August that the “Crossroads” star had already signed off on the book and wouldn’t be making changes to reflect the break-up before publication.
The global superstar “spooked everyone” last month when she recorded herself dancing with what appeared to be large kitchen knives (that turned out to be fake prop blades), leading the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office to do a wellness check at the singer’s Thousand Oaks home.
In an Instagram post, “The Mickey Mouse Club” alum explained that she was twirling the blades to “imitate one of my favorite performers Shakira” and told followers to “lighten up about the knives.”