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American singer-songwriter Keri Hilson appeared on the April 9, 2025, episode of The Breakfast Club and talked about receiving backlash for dissing Beyonce in 2009. At the time, the Georgia native's song hints at Queen Bey in the remix of her song, Turnin’ Me On.
“It’s a regret. But not in the way people think. That’s a song I actually didn’t write. Those are not my words,” Keri shared during her recent interview around the 25-minute mark.
Hilson went on to explain that she flew in for a studio session with record producers Polow Da Don and Timbaland, whom she was signed to via Interscope Records. However, Da Don had the lyrics written by another writer, Ester Dean, which was seemingly a reference to Beyonce’s 2006 song, Irreplaceable.
“Your vision cloudy if you think that you’re the best/ You can dance, she can sing/ But she need to move it to the left, left/ She need to go have some babies. She needs to sit down, she fake/ I ain’t turning it off, I’m stay turning it on. Go ‘head and tell these folks how long I’ve been writing your songs.”
Keri Hilson explained to The Breakfast Club hosts Loren LaRosa, Charlamagne Tha God, and DJ Envy that she was unwilling to sing that and was in a difficult position.
"I’m an athlete… I’m a finesse player. I'm not a nasty player, I'm not a dirty player. I don't even look at things like that," she added.
The 42-year-old further alleged that Polow Da Don seemingly threatened to ruin her career if she didn’t go along with their version. Back then, Hilson’s debut album In A Perfect World was yet to be released.
More about Keri Hilson’s latest remarks about dissing Beyonce
During her Wednesday sit-down with The Breakfast Club, Keri Hilson opened up about facing controversy 16 years back for dissing Beyonce in the Turnin’ Me On remix and how it affected her career in the long run. She claimed she wasn’t a fan of the lyrics penned by Ester Dean and found them “shady.”
Keri claimed that she didn’t seemingly realize whom they were directed at but was still opposed to singing them.
"I come into the studio and he plays me this verse. Automatically, I was like, ‘I’m not saying that.’ That was my position… But we disagree there Polow and I. Because he believes in kind of the shock jock mentality. He believes in playing dirty to a degree and I don't," she stated.
Keri Hilson explained that while she was “competitive,” she was also a swimmer, which was a “self-sport” and an “inside game,” meaning she always wanted to play fair and do better on her own, including in music. She continued by claiming she “tried to fight” Polow and “began writing my own” lyrics.
“It was quite forceful… in an executive artist way only… Involving others and kind of threatening my career… in a real sense. ‘Cause my album wasn’t out yet so, it was like, you’re not coming out if you don’t do this. And the mistake that I made was not continuing to fight,” she added.
Keri Hilson mentioned being “in tears” at the time and “adamant” about not willing to record the song. She went on to mention that she was “super young” and felt like she had no power or choice.
The R&B songstress claimed to have recorded her own version, which had no Beyonce diss but was instead about men. Meanwhile, the now-controversial remix of Turnin’ Me On “leaked” and she “protected” everyone involved, including Polow, the songwriter, and others, and had to “eat” the criticism that came her way.
“I’m still eating it to this day because I’m still getting asked about that 15 however many years, 16-17 years later, um, it’s like I’ve worn the scarlet letter,” Keri said.
She also claimed that the leak was "all part of" Polow's plan and "That was what he wanted to happen," expressing regret for not outing those involved before.
"I just didn't want to step into s**t anymore. I was shook. I was scared. Not of her [Beyonce] — I love her. I think she's incredible. She's one of the greatest artists of all time. I'm a fan, and have always been. That's never been in question for me. But now it's a name I can't say," Hilson concluded.
Elsewhere, Keri Hilson shared pausing her tour with Lil Wayne to record the remix, which many thought also had alleged shots at Ciara. The original track featured Weezy and reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time. Meanwhile, Keri's debut album charted at number 4 on the Billboard 200.
Notably, in 2011, Keri Hilson faced backlash for refusing to hold a magazine with Beyonce on the cover. She addressed it during her The Breakfast Club chat.
"I didn't want to hold no magazine of with her on [it]. I just froze, I just was, like, shook whenever anybody brought it up. It's a conversation I don't want to have publicly just because I don't want to p*ss anybody off. I don't want to make things even more weird than they already were. I just wanted it to go away," Keri explained.
This is not the first time Keri Hilson has spoken about dissing Beyonce. In 2021, she told Persia Nicole on the Middays with Persia podcast that years after the remix’s release, she met Beyonce and cleared the air.
“I feel like she understood what happened, what had transpired and there was a bit of healing in that moment when we met. I take her as a very intuitive kind of soul, as am I. She’s amazing. I’ve always felt that way, that’s the truth of the matter, but no one will believe that,” Keri explained.
Ester Dean has addressed the Turnin' Me On controversy.
In the wake of Keri Hilson’s latest interview, Ester Dean issued an apology on April 9, 2025, admitting the lyrics were “childish and didn’t age well” while taking “full accountability” for them and for hurting people, “especially women.”
Dean also claimed that she submitted “a lot of verses for that remix” but “one got picked,” which she reportedly co-wrote with Keri Hilson. She said “sorry” for her part in the controversy.
Notably, Ester later went on to co-write two songs from Queen Bey’s 2011 album 4, including Start Over and Countdown. Timbaland and Polow Da Don have also been collaborators of Beyonce over the years.
Keri Hilson recently released her single Bae, which is part of her upcoming album We Need to Talk, which is scheduled for April 18, 2025.
