Bad Bunny’s Ex-Baby Is Suing Him Over ‘Bad Bunny, Baby’
Seeking more than $40 million over the recording used on two songs.
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Bad Bunny’s Ex-Baby Is Suing Him Over ‘Bad Bunny, Baby’
By Justin Curto, who covers music, TV, and celebrity for Vulture
Bad Bunny, baby. Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
Bad Bunny’s next project could be Un Álbum Sin Ti. The reggaeton star’s ex-girlfriend is suing over his use of a now-iconic recording of her saying “Bad Bunny, baby” on songs, records, promotions, concerts, TV, radio, social media, and music platforms, claiming it was done without her consent. Carliz De La Cruz Hernández filed a lawsuit in Puerto Rico for over $40 million, according to the Associated Press, naming both Bad Bunny and his manager, Noah Kamil Assad Byrne. The suit claims she has a “distinguishable voice” and people often ask her about the recording, which makes her feel “worried, anguished, intimidated, overwhelmed and anxious.” Further, De La Cruz is claiming representatives for both Bad Bunny and his label, Rimas Entertainment, attempted to buy the recording in 2022, first offering her $2,000. After she declined, the recording was used in Bad Bunny’s 2022 song “Dos Mil 16,” off his blockbuster album Un Verano Sin Ti.
De La Cruz allegedly began dating Bad Bunny (born Benito Martínez Ocasio) in 2011, and recorded the clip at his request in 2015, back when he was releasing music independently. She claims he proposed on January 1, 2016, but they separated that May, after he was signed to a label and she was accepted into law school. Bad Bunny first used the recording of De La Cruz in the December 2016 song “Pa Ti.” They reconnected and dated for another period in 2017, but split again. Meanwhile, Bad Bunny has been focused on his current (rumored) relationship with Kendall Jenner, seemingly dissing her basketball-player ex in a recent verse on Eladio Carrión’s “Coco Chanel.”
