Bad Bunny’s ex-girlfriend is suing him for at least $40 million over the use of her voice on one of his hit songs.
Carliz De La Cruz Hernández is the woman who can be heard breathily saying ‘Bad Bunny, baby’ on two of the artist’s songs - 'Pa Ti' and 'Dos Mis 16'.
In a lawsuit filed in a Puerto Rico court, De La Cruz’s lawyers have said her voice and the phrase she came up with are being used without her permission.
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The suit notes that Pa Ti has had more than 355 million views on YouTube and more than 235 million streams on Spotify, while Dos Mis 16 has topped 60 million YouTube views and 280 million on Spotify.
The success of the songs have led to De La Cruz feeling ‘overwhelmed and anxious’, her lawyers have said.
The lawsuit states: “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’.
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“This has caused, and currently causes, that De La Cruz feels worried, anguished, intimidated, overwhelmed and anxious.”
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, started a relationship with De La Cruz back in 2011.
The lawsuit claims that in 2015, the artist decided upon the stage name Bad Bunny and asked his then-girlfriend to record herself saying it, which she did.
The filing reveals De La Cruz was staying over with a friend at the time and had gone off to the bathroom to make the recording, as it was the quietest spot, she then sent it to him.
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The following year the pair got engaged but the relationship fizzled out the same year.
They reunited in 2017 but, once again, it wasn’t to be and they went their separate ways.
But De La Cruz says she was contacted by a representative of Bad Bunny in May 2022, who told her he needed to talk to her.
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It’s then alleged she was offered $2,000 for the recording but she declined.
De La Cruz says she was also contacted by someone from Rimas Entertainment who was also interested in buying the recording and told her it would be used on the album Un Verano Sin Ti.
De La Cruz claims a deal was never reached and that the song was used without her permission.
Claire Reid