The Verzuz battles have provided a ton of entertainment to people while stuck at home, while also being fertile ground for some of the best stories about the entertainment business. Some titans of the music industry have sat down for a friendly battle, but it was producer Babyface who dropped more than a hot single about Halle Berry during his Verzuz with Teddy Riley.
It’s been months since the battle between their battle happened but it was still one of the more memorable battles to have happened on the platform. Teddy Riley became a meme on his own when, during the first attempt at a battle, Riley had a number of technical issues. Even Babyface gave up during the live and they rescheduled their epic match for later.
The rescheduled Verzuz was a smash however. There were over half a million viewers online for the event, which featured the two of the industry’s greatest producers playing a “Who’s Who” of hits. Of course, with Riley’s discography including more than a few hits by Jackson, even Babyface was in awe that he’d worked with the King of Pop.
Producing hits like Jackson’s “Blood on the Dancefloor,” “Jam,” and the ultimate “Remember the Time,” Babyface at one point showed deference to Riley’s experience with Jackson and even peppered him with a few questions about his time with the pop star. At one point, Babyface told Riley he brought a “movement” and was “honored” to be in his presence.
However, it was another story that caught listener’s ears and that’s the story that Babyface told about how Michael Jackson called him and asked him for one of the most interesting favors he never expected – to be put into touch with the actress Halle Berry.
Apparently, Michael Jackson was sweet on the Monster’s Ball actress and wanted to take her out on a date – much to his surprise, and fans.
“Speaking of MJ, it reminds me of a story, true story, fun fact,” he said. “One time, Michael called me and said, ‘Babyface … do you know who Halle Berry is?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I know Halle Berry.’ He said, ‘Could you do me a favor? I want you to call her because I want to take her out on a date.’ I said, ‘What?’ and he said, ‘Call her, I want to take her out on a date.’ So I said, ‘Let me reach out.’”
Since Babyface didn’t know Berry’s number, he hit up her agent to relay Jackson’s message.
“I called and gave the message and the manager’s like, ‘What?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, he wants to take her out on a date.’ And then, I was waiting to hear back from Halle and I can’t tell you exactly what Halle said, but I imagine it probably would have been something like this…”
Babyface used the story to segue into a clip from Boomerang, of which he produced music for, where Berry’s character asks, “You know, what do you know about love? What do you possibly think you know about love?”
See the full battle below.