In our previous coverage of Michelle Williams and Busy Philipps (re)declaring their love for each other, I lamented that E! pulled the plug on Busy Tonight. Silly me, I was blanking on the fact that Busy has taken her talents where they’re appreciated, to QVC , where she now hosts Busy This Week. (A name like “Busy” all but begs to be a talk show host.) So naturally Busy had her bestie Michelle on, who’s still promoting Dying for Sex, the FX series that is itself a love letter to best friendships. (Sidenote: I always loved Michelle in the pixie haircut, but I gotta say she is really rocking the hot ‘do of the season, the c-nty little bob.) In one clip from the episode, Michelle and Busy get teary as they recall meeting on the set of Dawson’s Creek. Busy had a profound moment of feeling truly seen, while Michelle had a sleeve of Fig Newtons in hand.
Busy Philipps and Michelle Williams clicked instantaneously on the Dawson’s Creek set.
In an exclusive sneak peek of Philipps’ QVC late-night talk show, Busy This Week, the actresses recall how immediately they connected in North Carolina more than 25 years ago.
In the chat, Philipps, 45, confesses that she was nervous to join the hit series. Philipps joined during season 5 in 2001, as Joey’s (Katie Holmes) college roommate, and though she didn’t yet know Williams, they “had heard of each other.”
“I had gotten added to the cast for the college years, and I remember being very, very nervous, and the first person I met was James [Van Der Beek],” Philipps recalls, before she notes that Williams, now 44, was crossing the street from a local market with a sleeve of Fig Newtons in hand at the time.
As the two reminisced over the specific detail of their meeting, Philipps quickly adds that she knew why she loved Williams “immediately.”
“I’m gonna cry,” Philipps tearfully begins. “Because I just felt like you got it. You just understood me.”
“I feel like — oh no, I’m gonna cry — my entire life I’ve always been like, misunderstood and prejudged by people,” she continues. “And for whatever reason, you just instantly were like, ‘I got you.’”
Williams interjects to say, “I loved you.”
“You really did,” Philipps says. “That’s what it was,” Williams confirms.
“I really loved you, too,” Philipps adds. “And the Fig Newtons in your hand, that was really nice.”
Philipps then confesses that they “used to cry so much together.” Noting, “But now you don’t let me cry as much, and you don’t cry as much. Do you want to tell them why?”
“Because it’s the delicate under-eye area,” Williams cheekily replies, with Philipps adding, “Because, you guys, under your eyes is a very delicate area and we can’t risk it.”
“I’ll tell you to stop,” Williams says before quoting herself, “‘Don’t ruin the delicate under-eye area, it’s not worth it.’”
It’s fun to hear Michelle making the quip about protecting the “delicate under-eye area,” given how she’s usually painted as the more serious one between the two. As for their retelling of that fateful meeting, People Mag didn’t excerpt the question Busy asks that starts off the whole conversation: “Why do you think we had this instant connection when I showed up?” I bring this up because in watching the clip, I couldn’t help but notice how Busy asks the question… then pretty much answers it all herself. Michelle does very little of the talking! And I feel like the core question — why they connected so strongly — isn’t even really answered! Michelle just says, “I loved you,” without any further explanation or context. Meanwhile Busy’s description of what she loved about Michelle, isn’t so much about Michelle as it is Busy, right? Don’t get me wrong, feeling seen and understood is very powerful. But I’m always fascinated when people give thanks or tributes to someone else, yet really end up talking about themselves instead. No question that the love between them is genuine and deep, but they are an odd couple! And Michelle agrees, as that’s the exact term she used to describe them in her recent Armchair Expert interview.
Another fun clip making the rounds is the pair talking about that crazy debacle at the 2017 Oscars, when La La Land was mistakenly announced Best Picture before producers stepped in to name the real winner, Moonlight. While everything was still awkward and unresolved, Busy apparently heckled Ben Affleck to “Do Something!” Why? She thought he could fix it because he was Batman! Even funnier to me was Michelle dryly replying, “He could not.”
Photos credit: PacificCoastNews/Avalon, Sara De Boer/startraksphoto.com, BauerGriffin/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images, David Acosta/Image Press Agency/Image Press Agency/Avalon, jpistudios.com/JPI Studios/Avalon
