Bad Bunny Hit With $16 Million Lawsuit Over Allegedly Stolen Vocal Sample

BY Gabriel Bras Nevares
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Bad Bunny 16 Million Lawsuit Alleged Stolen Vocal Sample Hip Hop News
May 10, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Singer Bad Bunny watches game three of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs between the Boston Celtics and the against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Bad Bunny received a similar lawsuit in 2023 from his ex girlfriend, alleging that he and his team used her vocals without permission.

A little over a year ago, Bad Bunny dropped arguably his best album yet, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. But exactly on the LP's one-year anniversary on Monday (January 5), Tainaly Y. Serrano Rivera sued him for $16 million for allegedly using her vocals on two of his tracks without permission.

According to the court filing itself in Puerto Rico and a Rolling Stone report on the matter, Bunny's Rimas Entertainment label, as well as producer Roberto "La Paciencia" Rosado, are also a part of the lawsuit. It stems from the use of Serrano Rivera's voice on two tracks. The first is at the end of "Solo De Mi" on 2018's X 100PRE, and the second is in the middle of 2025's "EoO" off of the aforementioned DtMF project. Her line is "Mira, puñeta, no me quiten el perreo" (which roughly translates to "Look, damn it, don't take away the perreo," reggaetón's main dance).

Per Serrano Rivera, producer La Paciencia asked her to record the line when they studied together at Arecibo's Inter American University's theater program. However, she claims he failed to inform her of its commercial or advertising purposes, and that they never negotiated a contract with a license or written authorization allowing its use in those tracks.

Furthermore, Serrano Rivera pointed out the Puerto Rican superstar's strong association with the phrase through merchandise, social media engagement, concerts, and more. She seeks $16 million from the defendants for allegedly violating her publicity and privacy rights. We will see how they respond.

Why Did Bad Bunny's Ex Girlfriend Sue Him?

Syndication: The Tennessean
Bad Bunny performs on stage for his “Most Wanted Tour” at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, May 11, 2024.

This lawsuit against Bad Bunny isn't his first. In fact, the lawyers representing Serrano Rivera in this new case also represented his ex girlfriend Carliz De La Cruz Hernández in a similar lawsuit from 2023.

In that lawsuit, De La Cruz Hernández accused the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show performer of using a vocal sample of her saying "Bad Bunny, baby" on two tracks without her permission. These are 2017's "Pa' Ti" single and 2022's Un Verano Sin Ti cut "Dos Mil 16."

That 2023 lawsuit continues to wait on a final resolution under Puerto Rico's court system.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.

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