It was a dirty face-off on last night’s Lip Sync Battle, with Malin Åkerman’s rendition of “Talk Dirty” going up against Stephen Merchant’s “Dirrty.”
Åkerman busts out some swagger and technically impressive choreography, but the real story here is Merchant. The co-creator of the British version The Office is known for making people cringe, and he brings that flare, along with a flash of pasty belly, to Christina Aguilera’s hit. Decked out in chaps and a Union Jack tank top—limbs flailing—Merchant’s performance is borderline horrifying, bizarrely endearing, and, yes, incredibly amusing.
Merchant, of course, has something of an advantage: he’s an executive producer on the show.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Introducing the 2024 TIME100 Next
- The Reinvention of J.D. Vance
- How to Survive Election Season Without Losing Your Mind
- Welcome to the Golden Age of Scams
- Did the Pandemic Break Our Brains?
- The Many Lives of Jack Antonoff
- 33 True Crime Documentaries That Shaped the Genre
- Why Gut Health Issues Are More Common in Women
Contact us at letters@time.com