The Tragedy Of Bad Bunny Just Gets Sadder And Sadder

Bad Bunny is the man of the hour. In 2025, he was tapped to headline Super Bowl LX's halftime show in what the Puerto Rican artist described as a victory for his people. "It's more than a win for myself," Bunny said in Spanish while hosting "Saturday Night Live," addressing his fellow Latinos. "It's a win for all of us. Our footprints and our contribution in this country, no one will ever be able to take that away or erase it." It's a hard-fought victory for Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, who spent years building his career from the ground up before finally breaking into the mainstream with his 2016 viral hit "Diles." Before the world knew his name, he worked as a grocery store bagger while studying communications at the University of Puerto Rico and chasing his dream of becoming an artist.

Alas, his Super Bowl halftime show announcement has already courted major controversy and was met with swift resistance from right-wing figures, including the POTUS himself. "I don't know who he is. I don't know why they're doing it," Donald Trump scoffed during an interview. "I think it's absolutely ridiculous." Host Greg Kelly also joined the chorus and slammed the NFL for spotlighting the rapper, claiming he hates America. "He's just a terrible person," added the conservative anchor (via Rolling Stone).

In fact, it's this kind of hateful tirade that led Bunny to opt out of performing in certain U.S. cities for his world tour, citing potential threats to his Latino and Puerto Rican fans. "There was the issue of — like, f***** ICE could be outside [my concert]," he explained to i-D in 2025. "And it's something that we were talking about and very concerned about." But wait 'til you hear the rest of his story. The tragedy of Bunny gets really sad. 

In 2023, Bad Bunny landed in legal trouble with his ex-girlfriend Carliz De La Cruz over his use of her voice recordings of the catchphrase "Bad Bunny baby" in his songs "Pa Ti" and "Dos Mil 16." De La Cruz, who dated the Puerto Rican star from 2011 to 2017 and was briefly engaged to him, claimed she never authorized the use of her recordings despite being offered a measly $2,000 for the rights. She sued him for $40 million, citing "gross negligence, bad faith, and worse still, an attack on her privacy, morals and dignity," according to court documents obtained by BBC. In her filings, she also reported harassment and stalking from Bunny's fans, which affected her mental health and eventually led her to seek psychological help.

It is unclear whether the lawsuit was resolved in court or through an out-of-court settlement. However, in 2025, Bunny found himself at the center of another legal battle — this time with Puerto Rican widower Román Carrasco Delgado, whose home appeared in Bunny's self-directed short film "Debí Tirar Más Fotos" and later inspired the famous "La Casita" replica featured in the artist's residency. Delgado, 84, claimed that his privacy was violated after a large number of visitors — presumably fans — began showing up at his property, effectively turning it into some kind of tourist attraction. He also accused Bunny's representatives of forging his signature on documents authorizing the further use of his home without notifying him or seeking his consent. Although he was paid a total of $5,200, the longtime Humacao resident said he was never fully informed about the extent to which "the [La] Casita would be used" and wasn't adequately compensated either (via AP). As of now, it remains unclear how the case has progressed or if it ever reached the courts at all.

Bad Bunny has a surprisingly short dating history despite being one of the world's biggest music stars. After splitting from Carliz De La Cruz in 2017, he went on to date jewelry designer Gabriela Berlingeri for five years and was famously in a relationship with model Kendall Jenner from 2023 to 2024. He doesn't really like to talk about his relationships or personal life, for that matter, though. "I'm not really interested in clarifying anything because I have no commitment to clarify anything to anyone," Bunny said in his profile for Vanity Fair. "There are people who say that artists have to put up with it." But he disagrees. "I don't have to accept anything and everything because I wanted to be an artist. At the end of the day, you listen to me because you want to. I don't force you to."

He did, however, offer a rare glimpse into his personal life in a candid January 2025 interview with Time magazine. The "Monaco" artist reflected on the fleeting nature of relationships and how it often mirrors the "sometimes-harsh realities" of life in Puerto Rico. "Tourists come here to enjoy the beautiful places, and then they leave and they don't have to deal with the problems that Puerto Ricans have to deal with day-to-day," Bunny began. According to him, it isn't so different from life. "Translating that analogy to a romance, there are also people who arrive to share [memories with you] and only see the best part of you, the most beautiful part of you. And they leave," he said, without naming any of his exes. "They couldn't see that part of each one of us: the defects, the trauma, the worries, the pains, the wounds of the past. It's like they were a tourist in your life," he also mused.

Bad Bunny has suffered from bouts of depression. In 2021, he discussed his struggles with fame and mental health in an interview with the Spanish publication El País, reflecting on his journey as an artist. "Some days it's hard," Bunny said in Spanish. "But I haven't had time to go crazy. I only recently had a 100% clear idea of what I've achieved, maybe a year or six months ago, but until then, I often forgot." He recalled going through an emotional crisis between 2016 and 2018, during which he felt lost and disconnected from reality. He realized he had grown distant from his family and no longer took pleasure in simple things that used to bring him joy, like watching films and boxing matches. "I was trapped in a capsule, unaware of anything," Bunny confessed. "The world could see me, but I was gone."

That wasn't the only time he's opened up about his mental health. Speaking to Apple Music's Zane Lowe, the so-called "King of Latin Trap" also shared how he battled depression during his early 20s. "I'm still young [...] I just turned 30. [But] I remember when I turned 20, I was depressed," he said candidly. "I thought I was going to die." At the time, he was still in university, working as a part-time supermarket bagger to support his musical aspirations. He's always been a deep thinker. "I'm a very emotional person, and sometimes I overthink everything," Bunny said. Thankfully, he's learned to take it all in stride and just go through the motions. "So I'm just learning not to think too much and just trust in the life and God and the process and everything and enjoy the moment."

Bad Bunny hasn't been immune to the darker side of fame. He's taken heat from Donald Trump and other prominent conservatives for his political views and has lived his life under constant public and media scrutiny. He's also been the target of actual threats: During his residency in Puerto Rico, Bunny reportedly amped up his security after receiving alarming threats against his life. Jay Fonseca, a radio personality and political commentator, said federal authorities were deployed at the final show of Bunny's residency on September 20, 2025, in San Juan. "There was a major alert for security. In other words, security was very zealous and stealthy for security at el Choli because there was a credible threat towards Bad Bunny," Fonseca said in Spanish during a news segment. The individual wasn't identified, but was said to be carrying a weapon and considered a serious threat. "The alert was higher because there was a subject on social media writing that he was going to kill Bad Bunny."

That wasn't the first time someone had made a threat against Bunny. In 2024, Mark Adams Prieto of Arizona was charged in a federal court for plotting a mass shooting at a concert venue in Atlanta. The Justice Department didn't reveal which artist or venue was being targeted, though the dates coincide with Bunny's "Most Wanted Tour" shows at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. As a public figure, Bunny understands that being famous comes with certain risks. "There's people that appreciate what I do; there's people that criticize it. There's people who say, 'Thank you for sticking up [for us], thank you for defending [this].' There's others that say I'm an opportunist," he told GQ in 2019. But that won't stop him from speaking out. "If I have the chance to say something, I will say it."