Country band Lady Antebellum made the decision, like many, to change their name due to its racist connotations after the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement. The push for ingrained racism to be dismantled was behind their choice to rename as Lady A. Except, there already WAS a Lady A.
It turns out that Black Seattle-based blues singer Anita White has been going by the name ‘Lady A’ for more than twenty years, and spoke out when she heard of the band’s decision, which came after they realised they needed to “take into account the associations that weigh down this word referring to the period of history before the Civil War, which includes slavery.”
Anita White originally spoke to Rolling Stone about her issue with the situation, saying the band didn’t contact her at all.
“This is too much right now. They’re using the name because of a Black Lives Matter incident that, for them, is just a moment in time. If it mattered, it would have mattered to them before. It shouldn’t have taken George Floyd to die for them to realize that their name had a slave reference to it…. I don’t know if [the new Lady A] are going to give me a cease-and-desist. I don’t know how they’d react. But I’m not about to stop using my name.”
It seemed that things were progressing well, however. The band posted a screenshot of a Zoom conversation with Anita, saying “We are excited to share we are moving forward with positive solutions and common ground.”
That seems to have died off though. The latest news is that Anita White has been slapped with a lawsuit, with the band saying in a statement “today we are sad to share that our sincere hope to join together with Anita White in unity and common purpose has ended.”
According to the band, they have had “Lady A” registered for entertainment purposes for “many years”, and that Anita and her team “have demanded a $10 million payment, so reluctantly we have come to the conclusion that we need to ask a court to affirm our right to continue to use the name Lady A.”
“Prior to 2020, White did not challenge, in any way, Plaintiffs’ open, obvious, and widespread nationwide and international use of the LADY A mark as a source indicator for Plaintiffs’ recorded, downloadable, and streaming music and videos, Plaintiffs’ live musical performances, or Plaintiffs’ sale of souvenir merchandise. Prior to 2020, White did not challenge, in any way, Plaintiffs’ open, obvious, and widespread nationwide and international use of the LADY A mark.”
Representatives for Anita White are yet to respond.
