A Puerto Rico Supreme Court Judge Just Ruled in Favor of Bad Bunny’s Ex-Girlfriend Over a Voice Recording She Says He Used Without Her Consent

Carliz de la Cruz Set to Receive $40 Million from Her Ex, Bad Bunny, After Emerging Victorious in Legal Battle 
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Carliz de la Cruz Hernández, an attorney who dated Bad Bunny for approximately five years between 2011 and 2016, has won a legal battle she filed in March 2023 against the Puerto Rican superstar, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio. A Puerto Rico Supreme Court judge ruled in her favor in a case centered on a voice recording featuring her saying “Bad Bunny, baby,” a phrase she says she invented and recorded inside a friend’s bathroom in Arecibo at his request, and which subsequently appeared in his songs “Pa Ti” from 2016 and “Dos Mil 16” from 2022 without her permission.

The case has drawn considerable attention in Puerto Rico and across the music industry, touching on questions about consent, intellectual property and the rights of individuals whose personal contributions end up embedded in commercially released creative work.

How the Recording Came to Exist

The story behind the audio begins long before Bad Bunny became one of the most celebrated artists in Latin music history. De la Cruz Hernández and Martínez Ocasio met while working together at an Econo supermarket in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, during a period when he was building his career from the ground up and she was by his side supporting those ambitions. Their relationship lasted five years, and it was within that relationship that she recorded the now-disputed audio at his request.

She recorded herself saying “Bad Bunny, baby” inside a friend’s bathroom in Arecibo, describing it as a phrase she personally invented for the occasion. The recording subsequently appeared in two of his songs, and the public attention that followed, including widespread commentary on social media about her identity and involvement, produced what she described in her legal filing as anxiety, distress and a sense of intimidation that has affected her daily life.

What She Is Seeking and What Was Offered By Bad Bunny

Three days before the May 2022 release of a Bad Bunny album, a representative acting on behalf of Noah Assad, Rimas Entertainment and Benito himself reached out to de la Cruz Hernández with a settlement offer of 2,000 dollars. She declined.

Her legal claim is substantially larger in scope and in amount. She is seeking at least 40,000 dollars and has filed charges covering violations of her right to integrity, damages, unjust enrichment, violations of her right to privacy and her non-commercial image, violations of her dignity and several additional claims. The Puerto Rico Supreme Court judge’s ruling in her favor represents a meaningful development in a case that many observers had been watching closely given the profile of the artist involved and the broader implications for how voice recordings and personal contributions are treated within the music industry.

Why This Case Matters

The legal dispute between de la Cruz Hernández and Bad Bunny’s team raises questions that go past this particular recording and this particular relationship. Voice recordings, phrases and personal creative contributions occupy a complicated space in music production, where the line between an intimate exchange and a commercially usable asset is not always clearly drawn at the moment the recording is made.

Her account of the situation, that she invented the phrase, recorded it at his request in a private setting and then watched it become part of globally distributed songs while being offered a fraction of what she believes it is worth, has resonated with many people who have followed the case. The ruling in her favor suggests that the court found sufficient merit in her claims to proceed, and the outcome of the full case will be watched carefully by artists, producers and the people whose voices and ideas end up in music they did not make.

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