Lady A Sues Black Singer Who Complained After Band Took Her Stage Name to Fight Racism

The band formerly known as Lady Antebellum is suing a black singer who goes by Lady A after adopting the same stage name as her in a stated effort to fight racism. 

Lady A, a country music group, announced the name change last month amid nationwide anti-racism protests and social upheaval.

• The band, made up of Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, said they had realized “Antebellum” invokes of pre-Civil War slavery and makes people feel “unsafe, unseen or undervalued.”

“We’ve watched and listened more than ever these last few weeks, and our hearts have been stirred with conviction, our eyes opened wide to the injustices, inequality and biases Black women and men have always faced and continue to face everyday,” they said in an Instagram post.

 

 

 

 

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Dear Fans,⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ As a band, we have strived for our music to be a refuge…inclusive of all. We’ve watched and listened more than ever these last few weeks, and our hearts have been stirred with conviction, our eyes opened wide to the injustices, inequality and biases Black women and men have always faced and continue to face everyday. Now, blindspots we didn’t even know existed have been revealed.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ After much personal reflection, band discussion, prayer and many honest conversations with some of our closest Black friends and colleagues, we have decided to drop the word “antebellum” from our name and move forward as Lady A, the nickname our fans gave us almost from the start.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ When we set out together almost 14 years ago, we named our band after the southern “antebellum” style home where we took our first photos. As musicians, it reminded us of all the music born in the south that influenced us…Southern Rock, Blues, R&B, Gospel and of course Country. But we are regretful and embarrassed to say that we did not take into account the associations that weigh down this word referring to the period of history before The Civil War, which includes slavery. We are deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused and for anyone who has felt unsafe, unseen or unvalued. Causing pain was never our hearts’ intention, but it doesn’t change the fact that indeed, it did just that. So today, we speak up and make a change. We hope you will dig in and join us.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ We feel like we have been Awakened, but this is just one step. There are countless more that need to be taken. We want to do better. We are committed to examining our individual and collective impact and making the necessary changes to practice antiracism. We will continue to educate ourselves, have hard conversations and search the parts of our hearts that need pruning—to grow into better humans, better neighbors. Our next outward step will be a donation to the Equal Justice Initiative through LadyAID. Our prayer is that if we lead by example…with humility, love, empathy and action…we can be better allies to those suffering from spoken and unspoken injustices, while influencing our children & generations to come.

A post shared by Lady A (@ladya) on Jun 11, 2020 at 8:01am PDT

It was widely reported at the time that a Seattle-based blues, soul, funk and gospel singer named Anita White had been going by Lady A for more than 20 years.

• White demanded $10 million for the name and told American Songwriter, “It shouldn't have taken George Floyd to die for them to realize that their name had a slave reference to it. It's an opportunity for them to pretend they're not racist.”

Lady A, the band, on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against White — rejecting her demand for payment and citing its trademark of the name back in 2010.

“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,” said the band in a statement. “We never even entertained the idea that she shouldn’t also be able to use the name Lady A, and never will — today’s action doesn’t change that,” according to The Associated Press.

The reaction: White responded on Twitter with biblical defiance. 
 

No Weapon formed against me shall prosper #LadyABluesSoulFunkGospelArtist #TheRealLadyA pic.twitter.com/KBYGnlw6Lw

— Lady A (@ladiawhite) July 8, 2020

She was backed by commentators on the left and right alike.

Blaze TV host of The Chad Prather summed up the situation, and the prevailing sentiment. 
 

So Lady Antebellum changed their name to Lady A in order to be racially “woke” but now they are suing the black singer that’s had that name for twenty years.

— Chad Prather Parler @watchchad (@WatchChad) July 8, 2020

Also on Wednesday, multiple news outlets reported the NFL's Washington Redskins are planning to stop using Native American imagery in response to renewed accusations that their name and logo are racially offensive.