Keri Hilson Says She Felt “Shame” After Dissing Beyoncé During Their Rumored Feud

Over the years, Beyoncé has been deemed the "celebrity's celebrity." Queen Bey is beloved by seasoned and new artists alike, who, like the rest of us, have plotted what they would do if they were ever able to be in the same room as her.

Of course, being a highly successful and respected member of the musical community comes with its ebbs and flows.

Many day-one Beyhive members know our girl has been at the center of several feuds throughout her career. However, her alleged beef with R&B singer Keri Hilson was something that nearly cost Keri her career and forced her to step away from what she loved. So, what happened between Miss Keri babaay and Beyoncé? Here's the rundown.

Keri and Beyoncé were involved in what appeared to be a one-sided feud orchestrated by Keri and her team at the time, Polow da Don and Timbaland, who signed her to Timbaland's label, . In 2009, Keri released the remix to her hit song, "Turnin Me On," where she appeared to bash several of her fellow musical peers, including Beyoncé. The lyrics seemed to have directly dissed Bey directly when fans thought she was using a line from her song, "Irreplaceable," against her.

"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," the song said.

Fans' spidey senses immediately perked up, as Beyoncé famously sings "to the left, to the left," in the track. Keri further insinuated she didn't see it for Bey or her husband, Jay-Z, when she refused to hold a magazine with the couple on the cover at a red carpet event.

Keri has said her perceived tension towards Beyoncé is one of her biggest regrets. In a 2020 interview with Out Loud with Claudia Jordan, she admitted that the ongoing backlash she received from fans regarding the song made her question whether she was supposed to continue singing and writing music for herself and other artists, resulting in her taking a nine-year hiatus from the industry.

In April 2025, Keri expressed her regrets in an interview with The Breakfast Club. During the interview, she revealed that Polow was responsible for creating the narrative she had beef with Beyoncé. She also said the song was among her regrets because it made her come off as a "hater" in the industry, which was never her intention.

"I have forgiven myself but that's what it goes back to," Keri told Charlamagne Tha God, DJ Envy, and Loren LoRosa on the show. "The shame that I felt for so long."

"I would be ashamed to walk in places or look like myself at times for that reason because I'm not a hater, I'm really not," she continued. like to the point where I never even read chart positions, I never even like cared about how many sales I have or how much. Like, I'm not that girl 'cause I'm not. I'm not driven by what others are doing or the competition; that I feel has nothing to do with what anyone else is doing. I've never felt like shooting anyone else down for their greatness made me greater."

Keri and Beyoncé's beef may never go away in the pop culture zeitgeist, but the ladies are above the social media banter. In the same interview with The Breakfast Club, Keri confirmed her love and admiration for Bey, deeming herself a "fan" of the Cecred CEO. She also said she and Beyonce have crossed paths since the debacle, though she thought she was being respectfully sized up by her.

"We ran into each other um at a at was it BET Awards and she introduced herself," Keri recalled. "I didn't see her coming but she came and her hand was out and she introduced she was like, 'Hi, I'm Bey or she may have said her whole name."

While Envy and Charlamagne assured Keri that Beyoncé seemingly introduces herself to anyone fortunate enough to meet her, Keri said she thought it was "G" of Beyonce to announce her name, alluding that it was a very "I'm Her" moment. Although we'll probably never hear Bey's side of the story, it's good to know there's no bad blood over on Keri's side of things!