Blues singer Anita White has vowed she is ‘not going to be erased’ amid Lady A’s lawsuit against her.
Lady Antebellum decided to adjust their stage name last month after acknowledging that the word ‘Antebellum’ has close ties with slavery in America’s southern states.
Washington state-based artist White, who had been using Lady A as her professional name for years, objected to the change at the time, but the two sides appeared to settle the dispute privately within days.
However, things turned nasty on Wednesday when bandmates Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood, and Hillary Scott accused White of trying to cash in on the situation by demanding $10 million (£8 million) to stop performing as Lady A.
Now White has responded to the lawsuit in an interview with Vulture, telling the outlet: “I was quiet for two weeks because I was trying to believe that it was going to be okay and that they would realise that it would be easier to just change their name, or pay me for my name.”
She added that the money she had requested was $5 million (£3.9 million) to rebrand and start over, while the other half was to be donated to charities of her choice.
“Five million dollars is nothing, and I’m actually worth more than that, regardless of what they think,” she sighed, lamenting, “Here we go again with another white person trying to take something from a Black person, even though they say they’re trying to help. If you want to be an advocate or an ally, you help those who you’re oppressing.”
She added firmly, “And that might require you to give up something because I am not going to be erased.”
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