Keri Hilson Accuses Ester Dean of Choosing to 'Stay Quiet' in Beyoncé Diss Saga

Keri Hilson claims that Ester Dean was the culprit behind the 2009 "Turnin' Me On (Remix)," where Beyoncé was subliminally dissed.

Hilson appeared on The Breakfast Club on Wednesday (April 9) and denied writing the verse about Beyoncé, although she took backlash for it. According to the R&B singer-songwriter, she wrote an entirely different version of the remix, but was rushed by her producer Polow the Don, who she was also signed to, to record a pre-written remix. Along with alleging that she was "forced" to record the song, Hilson refused to name the songwriter, claiming that she wanted to protect them from the BeyHive's response.

"I had to eat that and I am still eating it to this day," Hilson told The Breakfast Club hosts. "Because I'm getting asked about that 15 however many years 16, 17 years later, it's like I've worn the scarlet letter, really."

On Instagram, singer-songwriter Ester Dean was mentioned and promptly entered the chat, proudly defending the verse before issuing an apology. Two years after "Turnin' Me On (Remix)" leaked, Dean would be credited as a co-songwriter on "Start Over" and "Countdown" from Beyoncé's 4 album.

But as part of her apology, Dean claimed that she "submitted a lot of verses for that remix." "One got picked, and it was co-written with Keri. Looking back, it was childish and didn't age well," Dean wrote. "I see how it hurt people, especially women, and take full accountability."

But in the comments section, Hilson vehemently denied having co-written the verse at all.

"You used the word co-wrote. I RE-wrote 3 lines in your verse," Hilson said. "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."

Hilson also said that she wrote the song's "softest section," which was, "Been getting dollars boy / Gone get ya money up / No you ain’t the only homie on me, line up."

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

Before asking readers to watch the full Breakfast Club interview, Hilson accused Dean of choosing "to stay quiet for 16 years." "But coming out only now, when you felt a portion of the heat I've gotten all this time."

Also in the interview, Hilson spoke about healing in the aftermath of the "Turnin' Me On (Remix)" fiasco and mentioned that Beyoncé briefly introduced herself at an awards show. The vocalists would eventually have a conversation about the song, which Hilson revealed in 2021, and shared a "healing moment."