SNL Has A Cavalcade Of Celebrities Audition To Read Britney Spears' Audiobook
Pop star Britney Spears has been back in the public eye ever since the abuse she's suffered from both her management team and her family came to light, resulting in the termination of her conservatorship in 2021 after 14 years. Her new memoir, "The Woman in Me," (published this past October by Simon & Schuster) has put the spotlight on her once again; the New York Times bestseller list doesn't lie.
While "Saturday Night Live" hasn't had Spears on as a guest host yet, the latest episode (aired on November 11, 2023), did have a sketch highlighting the book. "The Woman in Me: Auditions" features Britney (Chloe Fineman, the go-to impersonator of blonde celebrities at "SNL") revealing some interesting details about how the memoir's audiobook was produced. As the sketch notes, the audiobook of "The Woman in Me" was ultimately read by Michelle Williams. However, Fineman's Britney reveals that plenty of other actors auditioned for the honor of reading her words.
'Oh yeah. Fo' shiz. Fo' shiz...'
According to "Saturday Night Live," the celebrities who auditioned to read "The Woman in Me" included:
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Allison Janney (Heidi Gardner).
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Timothée Chalamet (Fineman again).
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Martin Scorsese (the real Timothée Chalamet, who was the episode's guest host. He got Scorsese's motormouth down, but not quite his high pitch or New York accent).
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Steve-O from "Jackass" (Mikey Day).
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John Mulaney (Sarah Sherman).
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Kevin James (Molly Kearney, silently mimicking the recent shrug meme).
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Natasha Lyonne (Fineman once more, who apes Lyonne's habit of speaking with her hands — there's a shot of a stuffed ashtray before we see "Natasha" herself, to reflect her tobacco-toned husky voice).
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Fred Schneider from the B-52s (Bowen Yang, who gives a sing-songy line read with maracas).
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Julia Fox (again, Fineman, who nailed Fox's valley girl by way of NYC demeanor)
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Jada Pinkett Smith (Ego Nwodim, who "accidentally" reads from Jada's own memoir, "Worthy").
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Neil DeGrasse Tyson (Kenan Thompson, who mostly wants to meet Britney).
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Werner Herzog (James Austin Johnson, who perfectly enunciates in Herzog's flat, staccato, German-accented voice while reading about NSYNC).
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Ice Spice (Punkie Johnson, playing the musical guest of this "SNL" season's premiere).
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Dame Maggie Smith (Chloe Troast, who sorts Britney into Hufflepuff).
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Bill Hader (Michael Longfellow as the "SNL" alum).
No appearance by Michelle Williams, though. The joke of finding the perfect narrator would probably land best if they got Williams herself to appear, rather than an impersonator, and maybe they couldn't book her.
Of the actors, the best performances belong to Fineman (particularly for her Natasha Lyonne) and Johnson. They may not have been the right pick for "The Woman in Me," but they were perfect for this sketch.
"Saturday Night Live" airs on NBC, you guessed it, every Saturday. Next week's episode, airing November 18 at 11:30pm E.T./8:30pm P.T., will feature guest host Jason Momoa and musical guest Tate McRae.