Bad Bunny is facing legal action from a woman who alleges that an unauthorized sample of her voice was used on two tracks by the upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner.
According to the official court filing, Tainaly Y. Serrano Rivera is seeking $16 million for alleged intellectual property infringement tied to the vocal line, “Mira, puñeta, no me quiten el perreo” (“Look, damn it, do not take away my perreo”).
The phrase appears at the very end of “Solo de Mi” from X 100pre and is later reused at the 1:05 mark of “EoO,” a track from Bad Bunny’s Grammy-nominated project, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.
“Solo de Mi” has surpassed 540 million streams on Spotify, while “EoO” sits well past 760 million. Intentionally or not, the lawsuit was filed on the one-year anniversary of DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, the album where the vocal sample was reused.
Bad Bunny is named in the suit alongside Rimas Entertainment LLC, Roberto J. Rosado (a.k.a. La Paciencia, Bad Bunny’s go-to producer), and other parties.
The legal documents, obtained by Complex (and translated from Spanish to English), outline the origins of the dispute.
“In 2018, Tainaly Y. Serrano Rivera and Roberto J. Rosado, a producer better known as ‘La Paciencia,’ met in the theater program at the Interamerican University of Arecibo while both were pursuing their university studies,” the filing states.
The complaint goes on to allege that Rivera’s voice was used without proper authorization or compensation.
“Tainaly Y. Serrano Rivera's voice was used without her consent in both songs without compensation, without attributing to her legal recognition or rights for the songs, promotions, albums, concerts worldwide, and on social and music platforms, television and radio, among other things,” the document reads, citing missed royalties and the absence of financial compensation despite her being considered an author of both songs.
The filing also emphasizes the absence of any consent or formal agreement. “The lyrics of the recorded song include the phrase and the sound of the plaintiff's voice, without her consent or written authorization,” it reads.
The $16 million claim is based on multiple alleged violations outlined near the end of the case file:
• “$2,000,000.00 for each of the violations of the right of attribution and integrity as established in the Puerto Rico Moral Rights Act”
• “$2,000,000.00 for the damages caused by the defendants or their employees or representatives, suffered by her, in addition to applicable punitive damages”
• “$2,000,000.00 for the damages suffered under the doctrine of unjust enrichment”
• “$2,000,000.00 for the damages suffered by her due to the violation of the right to privacy and non-commercial image and to dignity”
• “$6,000,000.00 for the damages suffered by her due to the violation of the right to image protected by the Puerto Rico Right of Publicity Act”
• “$2,000,000.00 for the damages suffered by her due to the violations of the aforementioned rights attributable to all the concerts that took place in Puerto Rico”
In a 2018 interview, Bad Bunny explained the creative purpose of the vocal sample, describing it as the transition between the slow-burning dembow of “Solo de Mi” and the party-infused reggaeton of “Cuando Perreabas” on his debut album. The phrase serves a similar structural role on DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS as the segue on “EoO,” where the beat switches.
The attorneys behind the lawsuit, Joanna Bocanegra Ocasio and Jose M. Marxuach Fagot, are the same legal team that represented both the plaintiff and Bad Bunny’s ex-girlfriend, Carliz De La Cruz Hernández, in a similar 2023 case. In that lawsuit, Carliz demanded $40 million, alleging that Bad Bunny unlawfully used her vocals in the signature “Bad Bunny, baby” tag across his earlier work and later releases, including “Pa Tí” in 2016 and “Dos Mil 16” from 2022’s Un Verano Sin Ti.
The case emerges just weeks before Bad Bunny is set to take one of music’s biggest stages, performing at Super Bowl 60 on February 8 in San Francisco.