Blues singer Lady A has challenged the stars of Lady Antebellum to rethink their name change, because she’s not about to give up her moniker.
Anita White, who has been performing as Lady A for two decades, was stunned to learn the country trio had dropped ‘Antebellum’ from their name due to racial sensitivities this week and intended to perform and record as Lady A.
Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood explained the ‘Antebellum’ name had too many links to the American Civil War.
A statement read: “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.”
The other Lady A is not a fan of the name change and in an interview with Rolling Stone, the 64 year old reveals she’s upset that the country trio didn’t reach out to her at all.
“This is my life. Lady A is my brand, I’ve used it for over 20 years, and I’m proud of what I’ve done,” she tells the publication.
“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 realise that their name had a slave reference to it.”
“It’s an opportunity for them to pretend they’re not racist or pretend this means something to them,” she adds. “If it did, they would’ve done some research. And I’m not happy about that.”
Lady A is planning to take legal action to protect her business trademark for Lady A LLC.
“I’m not about to stop using my name,” Lady A says. “I’m not going to lay down and let this happen to me. But now the burden of proof is on me to prove that my name is in fact mine, and I don’t even know how much I’ll have to spend to keep it.”
Representatives for the country trio insist the stars were unaware of White, but were planning to contact her.
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