Country band Lady A, formerly Lady Antebellum, is coming under fire for suing black blues singer Lady A for the use of their trademark.
As you may recall, Lady A (band) revealed their name change last month amidst the Black Lives Matter movement. Antebellum is a word that has confederate roots, and refers positively to life before the civil war in the South.
“Today we are sad to share that our sincere hope to join together with Anita White in unity and common purpose has ended. 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,” the band said in a statement to ET Canada.
"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."
"We’re disappointed that we won’t be able to work together with Anita for that greater purpose. We’re still committed to educating ourselves, our children and doing our part to fight for the racial justice so desperately needed in our country and around the world. We’ve only taken the first small steps and will prioritize racial equality as a key pillar of the work of LadyAID, specifically leaning into supporting and empowering our youth. We hope Anita and the advisers she is now listening to will change their minds about their approach. We can do so much more together than in this dispute."
For the band to change their name to Lady A in an effort to combat their racist name, only to turn around and sue a Black artist is not a good look.
In response to the drama, she told Newsday: "I received a draft agreement from the Antebellum camp. I’m not happy about [it] yet again after talking in good faith… Their camp is trying to erase me and I’ll have more to say tomorrow. Trust is important and I no longer trust them."
Fans are standing with the blues singer in hopes that she will not have to enter an expensive legal battle with a band worth $41 million.
"You found me on Spotify easily,” she told the publication. "Why couldn’t they?"
What do you think of the whole situation? Let us know in the comments below!
