Lady A suing blues singer Anita White over their new name

When country singers Lady Antebellum changed their name to Lady A in June, the band stated it was a way to drop its association with the Antebellum South—a period of American history that celebrated economic growth as a direct result of slave labour. Unfortunately the group failed to do all of their research, and it wound up deferring to a name that was already in use by Seattle blues singer Anita “Lady A” White.While the band had trademarked the name Lady A since 2010 (using the nickname on social media and to sell merch), the solo artist Lady A has been using it for decades.“They're using the name because of a Black Lives Matter incident that, for them, is just a moment in time,” White told Rolling Stone after the band's name-change. "If it mattered, it would have mattered to them before.” A couple days later, both Lady As revealed on Instagram that they had connected and were finding "positive solutions" to their name problem.“Transparent, honest, and authentic conversations were had,” read both IG posts along with a screenshot of the meeting. “We are excited to share we are moving forward with positive solutions and common ground. The hurt is turning into hope. More to come.”

 

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A post shared by LadyA (@ladya_bluesdiva) on Jun 15, 2020 at 6:11pm PDT

It seems as they spoke too soon though, because band members Hillary Scott, Charles Kelly and David Haywood have now confirmed to E! News that they are suing White in order to keep their name after talks broke down. “Today we are sad to share that our sincere hope to join together with Anita White in unity and common purpose has ended,” they said in a statement. “She 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, a trademark we have held for many years.”News that the country band is suing a Black blues singer over a name she's used for decades is not sitting well with many, who rightfully pointed out the lawsuit is another move born out of that band’s white privilege. Artist Lady A expressed the same criticism on Instagram after hearing about the suit shortly after it was announced on July 8. “You finally realize your name is racially problematic so you shorten it, but then sue the black woman that has been using that name for 2 decades,” she wrote on her Stories. “That’s some white privilege.” Detractors added that stealing from a Black woman is pretty reminiscent of the band's original name and pointed out the name-change seems more like a transparent attempt to look "woke" rather than a true move toward equality.

Let’s unpack this for a second. @ladya changes the antebellum in their name to ‘A’ to be on the right side of history and distance themselves from slavery. Then, proceeds to sue a black artist who has been using that same name for over 2 decades? Tight pic.twitter.com/SySuthLbFV

— Stevie Cantu (@booDONK) July 9, 2020

Lady Antebellum changing their name to Lady A to be “woke” with BLM only to SUE AN ACTUAL BLACK ARTIST who already has that name proves that the elite do NOT care about “equality” they care about feeling better about themselves while still making their money!

RT!— Graham Allen (@GrahamAllen_1) July 8, 2020

Y’all changed your name to Lady A and sued a Black woman who has been using that name for 20 years @ladya? That made sense to y’all?

— first of all my business on Beyoncé site (@earringdealer) July 9, 2020

In its statement to E! News, band Lady A said they aren’t looking for monetary compensation and they don’t want to prevent Anita White from using the name Lady A. According to them, they’re trying to “freely and lawfully” use the name. “When we learned that Ms. White had also been performing under the name Lady A, we had heartfelt discussions with her about how we can all come together and make something special and beautiful out of this moment," they said.