Dangerous Bunny performs in the course of the sixty fifth Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, February 5, 2023.
Mario Anzuoni | Reuters
Puerto Rican rapper Dangerous Bunny is being sued by his ex-girlfriend for greater than $40 million over claims he used a recording of her voice with out permission or compensation.
Carliz De La Cruz Hernández claims that in 2015, previous to her break up with Dangerous Bunny — whose actual identify is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio — and earlier than his rise to worldwide fame, she recorded the phrase “Dangerous Bunny child” on her telephone.
That voice recording, she says, has been used on two of the Grammy-award profitable artist’s songs, his 2017 single “Pa Ti” and the 2022 tune “Dos Mil 16.” Each tracks have greater than 200 million performs every on Spotify and the latter seems on the chart-topping album “Un Verano Sin Ti.”
In keeping with court docket paperwork filed in Puerto Rico earlier this month, De La Cruz mentioned she got here up with the phrase and her “distinguishable voice” is getting used with out her permission. Her attorneys argue Dangerous Bunny’s use violates Puerto Rico’s “Legislation of the Proper to Personal Picture.”
“1000’s of individuals have commented immediately on Carliz’s social media networks, in addition to each time she goes to a public place, about ‘Dangerous Bunny, child,'” the lawsuit states. “This has brought about, and at the moment causes, De La Cruz to really feel fearful, anguished, intimidated, overwhelmed and anxious.”
De la Cruz and Dangerous Bunny dated on and off beginning in 2011, in response to the lawsuit. She alleges within the court docket paperwork that Dangerous Bunny supplied her $2,000 to purchase the recording in 2022 however she declined. A deal was by no means reached and he then went forward and used the recording with out her categorical permission, in response to the lawsuit.
De la Cruz is now looking for at the least $40 million.
Dangerous Bunny, 29, has not publicly addressed the lawsuit. His label, Rimas Leisure, and his supervisor, Noah Kamil Assad Byrne, are additionally named within the go well with. CNBC reached out to Rimas Leisure for remark.
Dangerous Bunny rose to prominence in 2018 after being featured on the Cardi B chart-topper “I Like It.” He is since change into some of the prolific hit makers in Latin music and was the most-streamed artist on Spotify for the previous three years.
Dangerous Bunny is ready to headline the 2023 Coachella music pageant subsequent month.