Lady Antebellum Sues Black Blues Singer ‘Lady A,’ Who Has Been Using Name for 20 Years

Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

Country group Lady Antebellum, who changed their name to “Lady A” last month to avoid associations with the Antebellum Era, is now suing Black blues singer Anita White over who owns the trademark, despite the fact that she has been going by that same name for 20 years, Billboard reported.

The group announced they were changing their name in June out of respect for Black people, following the police killing of George Floyd, as Antebellum refers to the pre-Civil War era during which slavery was legal in Southern states.

“They’re using the name because of a Black Lives Matter incident that, for them, is just a moment in time,” White told Rolling Stone following the band’s name change. “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.”

The band and the singer had since connected over a Zoom call to discuss their differences, and the trio posted a picture to Instagram claiming they had reached “positive solutions and common ground.”

The country trio later filed a lawsuit in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday, looking for the court to recognize their rights to the name “Lady A,” which has apparently been a band trademark for over a decade.

“Today we are sad to share that our sincere hope to join together with Anita White in unity and common purpose has ended,” the band said in a statement. “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.”

Several people have taken to Twitter to bash the country trio, noting that even if they had the name trademarked for more than 10 years, White had been using it for over two decades. Many also commented on the fact that they are suing a Black woman after a name change that was meant to show solidarity with the Black community:

While Lady Antebellum filed for the “Lady A” trademark in 2010 and there were no objections at the time, I’m not sure the smart move here is to file a lawsuit against a black woman singer who has been using “Lady A” as her stage name for over two decades. https://t.co/3YYxvpmJd4

— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) July 8, 2020

Lady A, the blues singer, is being sued by Lady Antbellum after they failed to come to come to an agreement.

Lady Antebellum filed for the “Lady A” trademark in 2010 and now wants to use the name, but Lady A has been using this name for over two decades. https://t.co/JjIDtTI0to

— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) July 9, 2020

So, it looks like Lady Antebellum’s newfound wokeness and solidarity with Black people was performative as FUCK. https://t.co/vQgNC8zFoH

— Monique Judge (@thejournalista) July 9, 2020

WOW. @ladya FINALLY decided to change their racist name and now they are suing the Black woman @ladiawhite who was already using the name they decided to change their name to. That’s some royally entitled privileged scumbaggery. https://t.co/j2i4GjPFR7 via @pitchfork

— Kimya Dawson (@mrskimyadawson) July 8, 2020

Let me understand…they changed their name from Lady Antebellum because they didn’t want to associate with the racist past to a name that a BLACK woman in the music biz was already using…now they are suing HER for not wanting to relinquish the name? ?https://t.co/owmSK5Xuny

— Karen Hunter (@karenhunter) July 9, 2020

#LadyA are now suing #LadyA, the singer aka #AnitaWhite, over the name’s trademark. Say what? This is NOT a good look for the artists formerly known as #LadyAntebellum https://t.co/xvJSI51oTw pic.twitter.com/Oh3Q3kIfbE

— SOCIALITE LIFE (@socialitelife) July 9, 2020

I think the relevant question is: Who decides to use the name Lady Antebellum in the first place, and why on earth would you listen to a single thing they had to say (or sing) after that?

— Caitlin Dickerson (@itscaitlinhd) July 9, 2020

The band formerly known as Lady Antebellum is fighting with blues singer Anita White over the trademarked use of “Lady A,” which White has gone by for 20 years. https://t.co/MEjudKaBac pic.twitter.com/2pZqe3d5HI

— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) July 9, 2020

Country trio Lady A, formerly known as Lady Antebellum, is suing blues singer Anita White, who has performed as Lady A for more than 20 years.https://t.co/gAm5jD0nPB

— iHeartRadio Canada (@iHeartRadioCA) July 9, 2020

Lady Antebellum is reinforcing the same problem they were attempting to correct – dispossessing black people of their dignity by sanitizing history and stealing the name and livelihood of a Black artist.

— Maryam Nayeb Yazdi ? (@maryamnayebyazd) July 9, 2020

The group formerly named “Lady Antebellum” recently changed its name due to its connection to slavery.

Now they’re counter suing a Black singer who demanded payment for the name, “Lady A,” one she’s used for years. The group trademarked “Lady A” in 2010.https://t.co/h84kJRrveI

— WAVY TV 10 (@WAVY_News) July 9, 2020

Irony: Lady Antebellum changes name to Lady A in solidarity with Black community. Now in legal fight over name Lady A with Black blues singer Lady A: Lady A files lawsuit against Seattle singer Lady A https://t.co/blQfh3A5QB #cdnpoli

— Lorrie Goldstein (@sunlorrie) July 9, 2020

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