Britney Spears fans were gobsmacked after an old rumor resurfaced indicating the singer's 2003 mega-hit single "Toxic" was allegedly about famed Irish veterinary surgeon Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick.
The smash hit tune which appeared on Spears' fourth studio album In the Zone became synonymous with the singer and was considered to be one of the most influential songs in pop music of the 2000s.
"Toxic" was written and produced by Bloodshy & Avant with additional writing from Henrik Jonback and Cathy Dennis.
Dennis was dating Fitzpatrick–who is famous for the TV show The Supervet–at the time.
Pop B*tch claimed:
"The man who inspired the Britney Spears track 'Toxic' was someone that the song’s co-writer Cathy Dennis had been dating in the early 2000s, who broke up with her in 2003: Noel Fitzpatrick."
"'It’s unlikely you’d have known who he was at the time (unless you had a sick spaniel) but he’s better known to most people nowadays as Channel 4 ’s Supervet!"
In 2009, Fitzpatrick became the first veterinary surgeon in the world to successfully apply an amputation prosthesis to a cat named Oscar who lost both its hind legs in an accident.
He was recognized by the Guinness World Records in 2014 for being the first veterinary surgeon to conduct the surgical procedure.
Dennis and Fitzpatrick reportedly met when Dennis took in her Labrador Charlie for his surgery.
Twitter was shook after learning the song about an addiction to a toxic relationship traced back to a vet.
The rumor "Toxic" was about the famed vet surfaced before.
In an episode of This Morning, Holly Willoughby asked Fitzpatrick if he might've thought the song was about him.
He responded:
"You may have to ask Kylie Minogue whether 'I Can't Get You Out Of My Head' is written about me."
"Toxic" was written with Janet Jackson in mind, but the techno-pop tune was initially offered to Kylie Minogue who turned it down before it eventually went to Spears.
The song receieved Best Dance Recording at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards and it marked Spears' first Grammy win in her career.
It was also certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2004. It was the singer's fifth best-selling digital single in the US.
