Bad Bunny Sued For $40 Million By Ex-Girlfriend Who Claims He Used A Recording Of Her Voice In His Songs Without Her Permission

Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio is known as "Bad Bunny," and he won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Música Urbana Album for Un Verano Sin Ti. But an ex-girlfriend has filed a lawsuit against him for allegedly using a voice recording without her permission, as first reported by NotiCel. Carliz de la Cruz Hernández is seeking $40 million in compensation, and the lawsuit claims that Bad Bunny used the recording of her voice in his songs even after she denied his team permission.

Bad Bunny Sued for $40 Million by Ex-Girlfriend Who Claims He Used a Recording of Her Voice in His Songs without Her Permission

Bad Bunny and de la Cruz went to the University of Puerto Rico together and started dating in 2011. She says she was helping the rapper with his early career by helping him with invoices, paperwork, and scheduling. Bad Bunny allegedly asked for her opinion on his music, and he eventually asked her to record herself saying "Bad Bunny, baby" in 2015. She complied, but the couple broke up in 2017.

De la Cruz says someone from Bad Bunny's team contacted her later to ask for her permission to use the voice memo of "Bad Bunny, baby" in his song. She turned down an offer of $2,000 and requested a contract for licensing out her voice. The lawsuit claims that she made it clear she would only allow her voice to be used if there was a formal agreement in writing. The phrase ended up being used without her authorization on two different songs: "Pa Ti" and "Dos Mil 16." The former has 355 million views on YouTube, and the latter has 60 million. They have become two of Bad Bunny's most popular songs.

The lawsuit is demanding $40 million in compensation, claiming that de la Cruz's voice has been used for promotions, concerts, records, and various musical platforms without her consent.

“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.’ This has caused, and currently causes, that De La Cruz feels worried, anguished, intimidated, overwhelmed and anxious,” the lawsuit reads.

She is also suing Bad Bunny's manager, Noah Kamil Assad Byrne, and Rimas Entertainment. “Since de la Cruz made it clear that she did not consent to its use, its publication constituted an act of gross negligence, bad faith, and, worse still, an attack on their privacy, morals, and dignity since all parties had and still have knowledge of these facts and even so decided to be reckless and break the law,” the lawsuit says. “Likewise, the publication of the song ‘Dos Mil 16’ without the consent of Carliz was carried out intentionally, in bad faith and for profit.”

Bad Bunny has yet to comment on the matter.