The latest episode of Saturday Night Live managed to make headlines for a number of reasons. Fan-favorite actor Timothée Chalamet took on hosting duties and crushed it, with his stand-out role being an A+ impression of Troye Sivan. On the other hand, the show received somewhat negative attention due to a sketch related to Britney Spears’ revelation-filled memoir, The Woman in Me. It even seemed this past weekend that the pop star’s manager blasted the skit on social media. Now, however, he’s speaking out to set the record straight on the situation.
In the SNL sketch posted to YouTube, cast member Chloe Fineman played the iconic singer, who recalled the various stars who humorously attempted to audition for the job as the narrator of the memoir’s audiobook. (In actuality, fan-favorite Michelle Williams was tapped to narrate.) Celebrities depicted in the skit include Allison Janney (Heidi Gardner), Mikey Day (Steve-O) and even Jada Pinkett Smith (Ego Nwodim). While a number of fans seemingly took to the humor, others did not. Amid that, a message from someone appearing to be Cade Hudson surfaced on Instagram, and it contained that sentiment that the long-running comedy series “isn’t funny” and is “on life support.”
It would now appear that the person who shared the comments was not, in fact, Britney Spears’ manager. Following the hoopla, the businessman himself sent out an email, which was shared with Vanity Fair. He shot down the claim that he criticized the segment but and clarified Spears’ feelings on Chloe Fineman:
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of fake impersonators in the Britney world and that was a meme created by one of them. This was made by a fan site and people thought it was me. … She loves loves Chloe and SNL. This isn’t real at all.
It’s true that the social media waters can get somewhat choppy whenever celebrities are involved, and that’s especially true when it comes to the “…Baby One More Time” singer. Her admirers have proven to be incredibly vocal and don’t mind voicing their displeasure if it looks like the Grammy winner has been slighted in any way. One needn’t look any further than fans’ efforts during the #FreeBritney movement to understand their passion. It’s admirable, impersonating a public figure to share one’s views is probably a bit too much.
The air has certainly been cleared now, though, and, based on Cade Hudson’s comments, it would seem that Britney Spears can indeed take a joke. It’s also great to hear that she’s a fan of Chloe Fineman, who’s emerged as a top talent on Saturday Night Live due to her impressions. In the memoir sketch alone, she not only impersonated the singer but also Timothée Chalamet and Natasha Lyonne. And if you’re wondering how Fineman feels about Spears, she has nothing but love for her. She indicated as such in the Instagram post below:
All joking aside though, Britney Spears’ autobiography itself isn’t much of a laughing matter. She details a number of very personal anecdotes from her life and career within the text. Not only do readers get a sense of the allegations Spears has leveled against her family, but there’s also further insight into her romance with Justin Timberlake. On that latter subject, she recalled their early encounters, breakup and other tidbits.
The pop culture icon’s sense of humor doesn’t seem to have waned, though, and you have to appreciate that she can roll with the punches. I’m sure that’s something Chloe Fineman as well as the rest of the folks at the late-night sketch comedy institution really appreciate.
Saturday Night Live returns on November 18 at 11:30 p.m. ET as part of the 2023 TV schedule. The latest confirmed Season 49 host and musical guest will be Jason Momoa and Tate McRae, respectively. You can also stream this latest installment and other past episodes now using a Peacock subscription.