Like a good BFF, Michelle Williams is jumping to pal Beyoncé's defense.
Earlier this month, former governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee found himself on the receiving end of criticism after he shared his thoughts on the powerhouse singer's marriage to her rapper hubby Jay Z, whom he called a "pimp" for "exploiting his wife as a sex object."
Unsurprisingly, his remarks didn't go over too well with Queen Bey's loyal legion of fans, so when the 59-year-old politician stopped by The View on Thursday, the ladies had to ask him about his eyebrow-raising comments.
Upping the ante on the Bey-centric debate? The fact that Michelle Williams, who is best friends with Beyoncé and a member of Destiny's Child, happened to be a guest co-host on the show.
"I've had so much uproar over half a page...half a page in my book," he said of his headline-making comments which appeared in his latest novel God, Guns, Grits and Gravy. "And I say she's the most amazing singer, great set of pipes, unbelievable dancer and she doesn't need to do songs like 'Partition' and 'Drunk in Love' in order to be an effective and an amazing talent."
Despite the backlash, Huckabee stood by his remarks, saying that Beyoncé should tone down her sexy side because so many girls look up to her. "It really—because she's such a role model for so many young women and this is what I said and it was a simple illustration," he explained. "Half a page in a 270-page book, and I'm thinking, my gosh, that's all I've heard about this week."
"You can't mess with the queen bee," Rosie O'Donnell replied in response before Williams chimed in to share her thoughts.
"You know what, you definitely can't mess with her," the singer said, sticking up for her pal before defending the superstar's success. "But as someone who has definitely come up in a group with her, has seen her hard work and who she is, I just feel like, you know, that album and those songs—it's that one moment where she decided to probably do some songs she's always wanted to do to shed that 'I'm a good girl.' She had some freedom and she owned it and she took it, so I was definitely offended. I'm not the Carter spokesperson, but to hear some of those comments that you said I thought were very, very, very low."
The 34-year-old singer continued, seemingly agreeing to disagree with the conservative Republican. "I respect you," she said. "And this is not to, you know, throw mud and tomatoes and all that stuff."
Likewise, Huckabee took Williams' criticism in stride and encouraged viewers to read his book in order to form their own opinions. "A lot of what people are reacting to are the headlines and the stories that the reporters wrote, not what I actually said in the book. I've said to people, read it and if you're still offended, so be it."