Did you know Britney Spears once had a fling with Irish actor Colin Farrell and allegedly even wrote a song about him?
In a new podcast interview, a music producer who worked with the pop star during her In the Zone era revealed he believes her song “Don’t Hang Up” was inspired by phone sex with the actor.
“I think that song is about phone sex. She was dating Justin [Timberlake] at the time, but they broke up as we delved further into the album. After the breakup, she went on a dating spree and started seeing Colin Farrell. I remember being there for all that,” Joshua Schwartz, who co-produced the track, shared.
“I was in LA when she informed me about her date with him. I recall saying, ‘I don’t know who that is.’ She replied, ‘Minority Report,’ have you seen it? Why don’t you watch it tonight?’ And I watched it and thought, ‘Oh, he’s cute, good luck,'” he continued.
Schwartz said Spears “would often talk about how she was on the phone with him all the time, so I believe that’s where the inspiration for the song came from.”
On “Don’t Hang Up,” Spears sings:
Don’t hang up
It’s just gettin’ serious (damn)
Your making me delirious
Don’t hang up
‘Til I’m finished with you
I’m not alone (don’t hang up)
I’m not alone, I can still feel you
Even when I’m lonely, and now I’m coming too (don’t hang up)
“Don’t Hang Up” was included on international versions of Spears’ fourth studio album, 2003’s In the Zone. The album contains hit singles “Toxic,” “Me Against the Music” and “Everytime.”
In 2008, Spears sang about phone sex again on a Circus bonus track called “Phonography.”
READ MORE: Britney Spears’ Favorite Song She’s Ever Made Might Surprise You
According to Paper magazine, Spears and Farrell first met in early 2003 when the “Mind Your Business” singer visited the set of S.W.A.T. while Farrell was filming. The pop star accompanied him to the premiere of The Recruit not long after.
At the time, Farrell told reporters that Spears was just a friend. “She’s just a mate. Seriously, we just met a week ago, [we’re] having a laugh,” the actor said.
Later, the pair were allegedly spotted making out at celebrity hot spot Chateau Marmont.
“Yes, I kissed him … He’s the cutest, hottest thing in the world — wooh! … But it was nothing serious,” Spears said in July 2003.
Reportedly, Farrell later sent Spears a T-shirt that read, “I slept with Colin Farrell and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.”