Anita “Lady A” White issued a lengthy statement to explain her side in the lawsuit that the country band previously known as “Lady Antebellum” has brought against her in an attempt to get her to drop the name she had been performing under since 1987. .
White claims that the band, made up of Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, tried to convince her to give up her stage name using her “love of God” as well as “lots of money and privileges.”
“I first heard about Lady Antebellum’s planned name change after they were made public on June 11, 2020, at which point they surprised and puzzled me. During the initial calls with the band members, Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, I hoped we could come to an agreement that would leave both parties whole. Lady Antebellum understood that her use of ‘Antebellum’ was offensive and that her adoption of Lady A was detrimental to me, as I have been using the name professionally for over 30 years, ”she said in a statement to Variety.
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White continued: “Although they recognized its impact, Lady Antebellum has not been receptive to my proposals to correct her infraction, unfortunately. It has already been shown why coexistence simply won’t work. My fans used to be able to listen to my music on streaming services; now they struggle to find me. Due to Lady Antebellum’s massive rebranding efforts, Lady Antebellum has erased me from all platforms. Lady Antebellum has used her wealth and influence to intimidate and intimidate me into submission without offering a real reward for appropriating my name.
“Now it is clear that his apologies, friendly texts and playing with my love for God were only insincere gestures intended to calm me down,” he said. “Well, I won’t be quiet anymore.”
White called the band out for their “privilege” and added: “Hillary, Charles and Dave are trying to change the narrative by minimizing my voice and belittling my experience as an artist, as if having a lot of money allowed them to move on.” my rights. I have worked too hard and too hard to reveal my name. “
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In June, the popular trio of countries announced the decision to change their name to Lady A “after much personal reflection” and conversations with their “closest black friends”, because the word “antebellum” refers to a period of time that includes slavery. “
White, however, is not happy with the band’s attempt to appear “awakened.”
“The gang’s decision to change its name to Lady A follows the trend of many other groups and organizations working to distance themselves from racism in the wake of the uprisings in this post-George Floyd world. Someone finally told them, or maybe they knew it all along and didn’t care until now, that their name reminds blacks of how much they took from us in the past: our lives, freedom, languages, families and, yes, our names, “he said.
White added: “It is absurd that Lady Antebellum has chosen to show her commitment to racial equality by taking the name of a black woman, particularly at this time when we are reminded every day to say ‘Say her name.’ from what is still being taken away from us in the present. “
SINGER WITH THE SAME NAME THAT LADIES TO, PREVIOUSLY LADY ANTEBELLUM, SAYS THAT IT WILL NOT BE ‘DELETED’ BY THE DEMAND OF THE BAND OF THE COUNTRY
The singer criticized the band’s decision to wait until now to change its name. “Given the way Hillary, Charles and Dave have treated me, I am not surprised that they have used the name Lady Antebellum for so long or that their cure is to adopt a name that is less overtly racist,” she said. “The A in her name means Antebellum and always will. If they are truly committed to racial equality, why do they want to maintain that association, especially when that means taking a public and intentional stance to disregard me and my rights?
“I want to be able to freely use my brand that I spent decades building. I don’t want to part with it. For me as a black woman, it is particularly painful to lose my name in THIS time and place so that Lady Antebellum can use it as an abbreviation to celebrate a time and place connected and highly dependent on slavery, ”added White.
Dave Haywood, Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum pose on the 2019 ACM red carpet.
(Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP)
The trio of countries filed a lawsuit last week in the Nashville District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee against White. The gang alleges that White and his representative requested “an exorbitant monetary claim” worth $ 10 million for the use of their nickname, on which they already had a patent.
In July 2011, Lady A was registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office without opposition.
“I asked for $ 5 million to compensate for this loss and to help me rebuild with a new name. I also asked them to donate $ 5 million to a charity so we could work together to promote racial equality, “said White.
The singer assured her fans that she “would not back down” in her public battle.
Members of Lady Antebellum, from left, Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, and Hillary Scott pose in Nashville, Tenn.
(AP)
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“Black lives, names, experiences, work, art, all matter. Fellow independent artists approached me to share their stories of name fights that they lost because they were on the opposite side of a lot of money and privilege. Not only will I not be one of them, but I am hopeful that this fight for what is rightfully mine will help those harmed by this type of bullying and erasure in the past, and that it will prevent it from happening in the future. “White concluded her statement to Variety: “I will not allow Lady Antebellum to destroy me and my career so that they can be ‘awakened’ by their fans.”
Fox News’ Tyler McCarthy contributed to this report.
