Ex-Flame of Bad Bunny Sues for Use of Her Voice Memo, “Bad Bunny, Baby”
In March 2023, Bad Bunny’s ex-girlfriend, Carliz De La Cruz Hernandez (“Hernandez”), sued Bad Bunny, his label Rimas Entertainment, and Manager Noah Kamil Assad Byrne for the unauthorized use of her recording of “Bad Bunny, Baby” in Puerto Rico.[1] In 2015, Hernandez recorded the phrase “Bad Bunny, Baby” on a voice memo app at Bad Bunny’s request.[2] The phrase appeared in a handful of tracks he uploaded to SoundCloud before he joined Rimas Entertainment and became famous, and Bad Bunny stopped using it in 2016 when they broke up.[3] While at Rimas Entertainment, the phrase publicly appeared on the 2016 track “Pa’ Ti,” which she argues was used without authorization and credit.[4] Her voice recording was again featured on the track “Dos Mil 16” of Bad Bunny’s hit 2022 album, Un Verano Sin Ti, again without her authorization.[5] Notably, this time around, the day before the album’s release, Bad Bunny’s representative offered her $2,000 for using her voice, yet, the next day, the album dropped with the track, even though Hernandez did not authorize it.[6]
Ms. Hernandez argues that the use violates Puerto Rico’s “law of self-image,” knowns as “Ley del Derecho sobre la Propria Imagen” and her moral rights, known as “Ley de Drechos Morales de Author.”[7] Hernandez made known that the unauthorized causes her to “feel worried, anguished, intimated, overwhelmed and anxious,” as it is constantly commented directly on her social media networks or whenever she goes to a public place.[8] Note, at this point, they have not dated since 2017, yet she is constantly bombarded with messages of her ex-flame (potentially fiancé).[9] The lawsuit also claims that the representative’s conduct regarding the use in “Dos Mil 16” constitutes an act of gross negligence, bad faith, as the representative was aware Hernandez did not feel comfortable with the use of her voice and did not authorize it, repeatedly.[10] The representative repeatedly asked her for authorization of the voice memo.[11] The first time, Hernandez rejected it and stated that she would only authorize it through a written agreement. Another time, the representative met up with her to hear the track, and once again, she refused and stated that she did not feel comfortable.[12] The day before the release of Un Verano Sin Ti, the representative sent her a contract that was “excessively comprehensive, so she felt cheated,” and then another employee at Rimas Entertainment sent her an alternative contract seeking permission to use her voice memo in the upcoming “Dos Mil 16” and, retroactively, “Pa Ti” which Hernandez did not sign.[13]
An intellectual property attorney based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Ramon G. Vela Cordova, in an interview with VICE, confirmed his belief that Hernandez has a strong self-image claim. [14] He argued that she has a strong self-image claim because Bad Bunny used her image or likeness, which includes voice, for commercial purposes without consent.[15] Furthermore argues that Bad Bunny and his team cannot claim they did not think they needed permission because they tried to get it repeatedly.[16] However, the attorney argues that the moral rights claim has its challenges, as in copyright, phrases are not protected, especially when they are short phrases, such as “Where’s the beef?” and the above-mentioned “Bad Bunny, Baby.”[17] Overall, this attorney believes that Bad Bunny and its team will settle this claim and that she would be expected to receive a low six-figure.[18]
In this case, Rimas Entertainment’s conduct is notable when attempting to get authorization from Hernandez in 2022. Suppose it were indeed the case that the representative contacted her to get authorization one day before the album release. In that case, it does provide bad faith, especially considering the sum they offered, $2,000, is way too low. The label asked her specifically the day before to pressure Ms. Hernandez into giving in faster, as Rimas Entertainment likely knew if she had time to reflect, she would ask for a lot more – maybe, even a royalty rate. Not to mention that the representative sent an overly complicated contract without giving her any time to review is also very questionable. At the time, Bad Bunny already had an incredibly successful career. In December 2020, Bad Bunny was Spotify’s most-streamed artist globally, with more than 8.3 billion streams for 2020. [19] In December 2020, Bad Bunny released El Ultimo Tour del Mundo, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, surpassing Miley Cyrus’ new album, Plastic Hearts, and only one of four all-Spanish albums to have entered the chart’s top five, in this list was included Bad Bunny’s album YHLQMDLG, which charted at No. 2 earlier in the year.[20] In April 2021, Bad Bunny’s El Ultimo Tour del Mundo became the fastest-selling tour since 2018.[21] This tour became the highest-grossing tour by a Latin artist in Billboard Boxscore’s three-decades-plus history.[22]. Yet, even with all these accomplishments, Bad Bunny’s representative dared to offer Bad Bunny’s ex-girlfriend and muse a measly $2,000 for her voice memo.
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