His ex-girlfriend Bad Bunny is suing the superstar for at least $40 million over a recording of her voice that the singer used before he was even famous.

Carliz De La Cruz Hernández, whose voice was featured on two of the artist’s songs, claims in her lawsuit, filed this month in a Puerto Rico court, that her voice and the phrase she coined are being used without her permission.

The lawsuit, revealed by Puerto Rico’s online news site NotiCel, notes that the phrase was used in the song “Pa Ti,” which has more than 355 million views on YouTube and more than 235 million plays on Spotify. It was also used in the song “Dos Mil 16”, which has more than 60 million views on YouTube and 280 million plays on Spotify.

The lawsuit states that De La Cruz’s voice has also been used without her consent for songs, records, promotions and world concerts, as well as on television, radio, social media and music platforms.

A lawsuit was also filed against Noah Kamil Assad Byrne, Bad Bunny’s manager, whose real name is Benito Martínez Ocasio.

De La Cruz and Martínez first became a couple in 2011. A year later, they began studying at the University of Puerto Rico while working at a nearby grocery store.

The lawsuit states that during this time, Martínez constantly created songs and beats and consulted De La Cruz, who was also responsible for planning his parties and managing invoices and contracts.

The birth of the phrase “Bad Bunny, baby” came in 2015, when Martínez asked De La Cruz to record herself saying it. She did it in a bathroom one day while staying with a friend, the lawsuit states.

On January 1, 2016, Martínez asked De La Cruz to marry him. However, in April 2016, Rimas Music signed Martínez. That same year, De La Cruz was accepted to the University of Puerto Rico Law School and ended her relationship with Martínez in May 2016. They got back together in 2017, but again went their separate ways.

Then, in May 2022, a rep for Bad Bunny contacted De La Cruz, saying he needed to talk to her.

In that call, the representative offered her $2,000 to buy the recording of her voice. De La Cruz declined and then spoke with someone from Rimas Music, who also offered to buy it, saying the recording would be used on her upcoming album “Un Verano Sin Ti,” the lawsuit states. However, an agreement was never reached and the song was published without De La Cruz’s consent, according to the lawsuit.