Photo Credit: Glenn Francis / CC by 4.0
Bad Bunny’s ex-girlfriend files a $40 million lawsuit for the unlicensed use of her ‘Bad Bunny, Baby’ recording.
Bad Bunny’s ex-girlfriend is suing the singer for at least $40 million for the well-known voice recording she provided that he has used in two of his songs. Carliz De La Cruz Hernández’s breathy “Bad Bunny, baby” recording can be heard in two of the artist’s songs, and a lawsuit filed in Puerto Rico this month claims that her voice and the phrase are being used without her permission.
The lawsuit notes that the phrase was used in “Pa Ti,” which has over 355 million views on YouTube and over 235 million listens on Spotify. It also saw use in “Dos Mil 16,” which has more than 60 million YouTube views and 280 million hits on Spotify. Additionally, the lawsuit states that De La Cruz’s voice has been used without her consent for “songs, records, promotions, worldwide concerts, television, radio, social, and musical platforms.”
“Since then, thousands of people have commented directly on Carliz’s social media networks, as well as every time she goes to a public place, about the ‘Bad Bunny, baby,’ causing De La Cruz to feel worried, anguished, intimidated, overwhelmed, and anxious,” says the lawsuit.
De La Cruz first became involved with Bad Bunny in 2011. During that time, according to the lawsuit, the artist would often create songs and rhythms, seeking her opinion on them, while she was also in charge of scheduling his appearances and handling invoices and contracts. She recorded the “Bad Bunny, baby” phrase for him in 2015.
The couple eventually went their separate ways, but De La Cruz asserts that a representative for Bad Bunny reached out to her in May 2022, offering her $2,000 for the recording. She declined and was offered another deal by Rimas Entertainment, but a deal was never reached. According to the lawsuit, the album utilizing the recording was published without De La Cruz’s consent.
Also named in the lawsuit is Noah Kamil Assad Byrne, manager for Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Martínez Ocasio.