People really have some nerve! Country group Lady Antebellum decided to change their name to “Lady A” because they didn’t want to be connected to a word that’s associated with slavery. Problem is, there’s a black singer who already goes by that name and now they’re trying to force her to give it up. More inside…

People really have the game messed up.

Country band Lady Antebellum is moving real funny in these streets after announcing they were changing their name to simply, “Lady A.” The trio decided to shorten their name by dropping Antebellum, a term associated with slavery. They were inspired to change their moniker after the Black Lives Matter movement began protesting to demand justice in the death of George Floyd.

 

 

 

 

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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

After they realized a black singer already goes by the name Lady A, they did a digital meet up with the singer, seemingly as a good faith gesture since they never got her permission before they changed their name to the one she already has been using.

Today, we connected privately with the artist Lady A. Transparent, honest, and authentic conversations were had. We are excited to share we are moving forward with positive solutions and common ground. The hurt is turning into hope. More to come.#LadyABluesSoulFunkGospelArtist pic.twitter.com/P3uyhfO3gX

— Lady A (@ladya) June 15, 2020

Now, less than a month later, the group has decided to SUE her over because she doesn’t want to GIVE UP the name she built from the ground up. The unmitigated gall! We can't make this ish up. The group released a statement, sharing details about the deal they tried to make with blues singer Lady A (real name Anita White).

"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,” band members Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and David Haywood told E! News.

The group said they didn’t request money from Ms. White and they also don’t want to prevent her from using the name Lady A. The country group asked the court asked the court to acknowledge their lawful use of the trademarked name, Lady A. In so many words, they want her to freely give them her name that she worked so hard to create. Hmph.

"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 continued in their 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. Instead, we shared our stories, listened to each other, prayed and spent hours on the phone and text writing a song about this experience together. We felt we had been brought together for a reason and saw this as living out the calling that brought us to make this change in the first place."

"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."

As you can imagine, Lady A is not with it!

Lady A explained to Newsday why she couldn’t come to an agreement with the country singing group and we’re SO glad she’s standing her ground.

"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," she said.

After the country group first made the name change, the real Lady A spoke to Rolling Stone about it and aired out her frustrations over the name drama.

"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 explained. "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 realize 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 added.

And she’s absolutely RIGHT in everything she said.

You can’t just up and decide you want to change your name to something someone else already created and built a brand for. Like, the nerve!

In spite of it all, Lady A is still doing her. She has a new album dropping next week:

 

 

 

 

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Lady A Live in New Orleans NEW CD set to release My Birthday July 18th - Excited In Spite Of..... for No Weapon Formed Against Me Shall prosper Get your pre-order download now www.ladyababyblues.com #GodIsGood #LadyABluesSoulFunkGospelArtist #TheRealLadyA

A post shared by LadyA (@ladya_bluesdiva) on Jul 6, 2020 at 5:58pm PDT

Sweet!

Photo: Lady A's IG