Soul singer Anita White has threatened legal action against Lady Antebellum after their sudden decision to rebrand as Lady A. She has been using that name to perform and release music for more than two decades.
The country band announced last week that they were dropping the word 'antebellum' from their name, due to its association with the slave trade. They said that they were now “regretful and embarrassed” to have ever used it and would instead adopt the nickname used by many of their fans already, Lady A.
White has expressed anger that in this apparent gesture of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter moment, the massively popular band has taken the stage name from a black artist apparently without a moment's thought.
“This is my life", she tells Rolling Stone. "Lady A is my brand, I’ve used it for over 20 years, and I’m proud of what I’ve done ... an opportunity for them to pretend they’re not racist or pretend means something to them. If it did, they would’ve done some research. And I’m not happy about that. found me on Spotify easily - why couldn’t they?"
“I’m not about to stop using my name", she goes on. “For them to not even reach out is pure privilege. 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".
A spokesperson for the band said that they were not previously aware of White and now plan to speak to her directly about the clash of names. White, meanwhile, is gearing up for the release of new album, 'Lady A: Live In New Orleans', next month.