"We didn't write it together" — Keri Hilson denies co-writing Beyoncé diss track after Ester Dean apologizes for her "part in it"

American singer-songwriter Keri Hilson recently appeared on The Breakfast Club on Wednesday, April 9, wherein she claimed that she was forced to release her 2009 diss track aimed at Beyonce. The song was called Turnin' Me On and it featured digs at Beyonce in a verse.

Hilson's statement on the podcast resulted in a response from singer and record producer Ester Dean, who took to Instagram on April 9, 2025, to apologize for co-writing the Beyoncé diss track. Social media page, The Shade Room, covered Ester's apology to Keri Hilson for her part in the 2009 song, and the latter responded to it via TSR's comment section on April 9, 2025.

Addressing Ester Dean, Hilson mentioned that she didn't think it was their "fight to have" and that she respected the record producer on the matter in question for 16 years. Keri Hilson stated:

"You used the word co-wrote. I RE-wrote 3 lines in your verse. Which was the ONLY battle I won in the whole matter. But you weren't there when all this was going down, and we didn't write it together."

The verse in question consisted of lyrics taking shots at Beyonce, referring to her 2006 track Irreplaceable, stating:

"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/Them other chicks ain't even worth my time to talk about."

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More details on Ester Dean's apology and Keri Hilson's response concerning 2009 Beyonce diss track explored

During her appearance on The Breakfast Club, Keri Hilson claimed that the lyrics in her song Turnin' Me On taking a dig at Beyonce, weren't her words and were written by another songwriter.

Hilson alleged that producer Polow da Don threatened her career and hinted at sabotaging her debut album, In a Perfect World..., when she tried to retaliate against the "dirty player" move. She recalled that she was adamant against the verse dissing Beyonce and regrets not continuing to fight it.

While Keri Hilson didn't name the writer of the verse, shortly after her statement on the podcast went viral, Ester Dean took accountability for the track Turnin' Me On and issued an apology. Ester Dean mentioned that while she submitted multiple verses for the remix, only one got picked, which was co-written with Hilson. Ester Dean added that the verse was "childish and didn't age well", taking full accountability for the derogatory lyrics against Beyonce.

In her response to Ester Dean's apology, Keri Hilson lashed out at the record producer and singer, clarifying that the "softest section" of the song, comprising lyrics about a boy, was written by her. She added:

"Because not only did I strongly disagree with the unnecessary hateful sentiments towards other women, and l've never been a fan of the publicity stunt method..."

Hilson continued:

"I ALSO argued in my trail of attempts that "This verse isn't even ON SUBJECT with the original song!" which is how l even got those 3 lines on the remix. They were taken from the ideas/lines in my phone that I mention in the full interview.”

Keri Hilson also blamed Ester Dean for staying quiet for 16 years, claiming that she came clean on co-writing the track when Dean experienced the hate Hilson had been getting all these years.

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In other news, Keri Hilson recently announced a new album called We Need to Talk. The latest album marks her first full-length project since her second studio album, No Boys Allowed.