“Its a regret,” Hilson said of the hit track.
“But not in the way people would think because thats a song I actually didnt write.
Those are not my words.”
Keri Hilson at Gold Room in 2019 and Beyoncé performing on the Renaissance tour in 2023.Credit:Prince Williams/Wireimage; Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Instead, she was shocked to discover that Polow had lyrics from another writer already prepared.
Paras Griffin/Getty
“I come into the studio and he plays me this verse,” she recalled.
“Automatically, I was like, Im not saying that.
Polow Da Don and Keri Hilson in 2016.Paras Griffin/Getty
That was my position.'”
Go head and tell these folks how long Ive been writing your songs."
Still, she was opposed.
“Im an athlete but Im 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 explained.
“But we disagree there Polow and I.
Because he believes in kind of the shock jock mentality.
He believes in playing dirty and I don’t.”
Keri Hilson during 2024 ONE MusicFest.Aaron J. Thornton/Getty
“I tried to fight him on it and I began writing my own but he…
It was quite forceful,” she said of Polow.
“In an executive-artist way.
Involving others and kind of threatening my career, in a real sense.”
The mistake that I made was not continuing to fight, but I was in tears.
I was adamant that I did not wanna do that."
Aaron J. Thornton/Getty
“I was super young.
I felt I had no power, I felt I had no choice,” she said.
Though she did pen and record her own verse, the original version of the remix leaked days later.
“That was that,” Hilson said of the furious response.
“And I protected him.
I protected the girl that wrote it, who went on to become famous.
It’s like I’ve worn the scarlet letter.”
“I submitted a lot of verses for that remix.
One got picked, and it was co-written with Keri,” Dean wrote on Instagram.
“Looking back, it was childish and didnt age well.
I see how it hurt people, especially women, and I take full accountability.
Im sorry for my part in it.
Growth is real, and so is this apology.”
Entertainment Weeklyhas reached out to representatives for Interscope Records and Timbaland for comment.
“I just didn’t want to step into shit anymore.
“Not of her I love her.
I think she’s incredible.
She’s one of the greatest artists of all time.
I’m a fan, have always been.
That’s never been in question for me.
But now it’s a name I can’t say.”
Watch Hilson’s full appearance onThe Breakfast Clubabove.
