Bad Bunny has got some grandes problemas on his hands!
The world-famous recording artist is being sued by an ex-girlfriend who claims he owes her a LOT of money for sampling her voice over and over — and over, and over, and over again — from a quick track she cut long before he became famous.
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According to the Puerto Rican news outlet NotiCel, Bad Bunny is now being sued by an ex-girlfriend named Carliz De La Cruz Hernández. She’s seeking more than $40 million (!) in damages and claims she lent her voice to an iconic recording years ago that the artist has been using for a long time.
Per the suit, Hernández claims it’s her voice that offers the breathy “Bad Bunny, baby” recording on at least two of the artist’s popular songs: Pa Ti, and Dos Mil. The court filing notes Carliz has a “distinguishable voice,” and thus is easily recognized by listeners of those two tracks. Plus, Pa Ti has well over 350 million views on YouTube, and 235 million streams on Spotify, while Dos Mil has 60 million YT hits and another 280 million Spotify turns. So, basically, her voice is ALL OVER Bad Bunny’s discography with — she claims — no reimbursement to show for it.
The phrase goes further than that, too. In the suit, Carliz claims the unpaid clip has also been used in a host of other recordings without her consent. That includes promotions, concert clips, television ads, radio hits, and social media posts. As her side of the story goes, Carliz allegedly came up with the “Bad Bunny, baby” recording on her own, delivered it to her then-boyfriend, and then didn’t get paid for it.
Not good!!
Listed in the suit are Bad Bunny himself — whose real name is Benito Martínez Ocasio — as well as his manager Noah Kamil Assad Byrne. In the lawsuit, Carliz’s attorneys write:
“Since [the recording was released], 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.”
According to The Guardian, Carliz and Bad Bunny first became a couple in 2011. At the time, she was working at a grocery store in the city of Arecibo, Puerto Rico while preparing to start law school. The lawsuit states Bad Bunny “was constantly creating songs and rhythms” in those years before becoming famous. And, he “would seek opinions” from Carliz about what she thought of the tracks.
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In early 2015, Bad Bunny reportedly asked Carliz to record the phrase in question. She did it in the bathroom of a friend’s house “because that was where it was least noisy,” and then sent the recording to him. A year later, after Carliz and Bad Bunny became engaged, the singer was signed to Rimas Music and got his start in the industry. His relationship with Carliz was not meant to be, though, and the pair split in May 2016.
Then, in May 2022, a rep for Bad Bunny abruptly reached out to Carliz. According to the lawsuit, the singer’s team member referenced Harry Potter in a phone call with the woman:
“In that call, [the representative] said, ‘I know you don’t like to talk about Voldemort [meaning Bad Bunny], but I need to ask you something.'”
The man then offered to pay Carliz $2,000 for that 2015 recording of her voice. She declined the offer, and then later spoke to “someone at Rimas Music” who also offered to buy the clip. That rep reportedly told her the recording would be used in Bad Bunny’s then-forthcoming album Un Verano Sin Ti. However, she says a deal was never struck for the use of her voice, and she was never paid for that recording.
Related: Kendall Jenner And Bad Bunny Are Defying The Odds!
Tracks, promos, and more that feature her voice prominently have since been published without her consent, Carliz’s lawsuit now contests. As we noted up top, she is seeking more than $40 million in damages as reimbursement for helping Bad Bunny’s career along for free. Damn!!
Among other issues, there’s clearly a lesson here for Kendall Jenner: get the recording contracts signed first! (Um, no s**t, tho? Kris Jenner doesn’t play. Ha!!)
Reactions, Perezcious readers??
[Image via MEGA/WENN]
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