Anita White, also known as Lady A, backlashed American band who also call themselves Lady A, in an exclusive interview with Vulture. White shared to Vulture that the formerly known band Lady Antebellum has never been really straight to her even in the starting phase of the negotiations. “I think they always knew what they were gonna do,” she said.
For starters, the band placed a lawsuit against White claiming they own the legal trademark of the name Lady A. The lawsuit was submitted after the two party’s negotiation about the matter. As Variety reported, referencing Vulture’s interview with White, the negotiations tumbledown when White’s “new intellectual property attorney” asked the band for $10 million.
The hard cash demand from White’s party came on July 3 and was quickly repudiated by the Nashville group’s attorneys. Per White, she chose to remain silent for two weeks believing the case would turn out fine. White expressed her thoughts about how the trio can just easily change their name or compensate her. “…I’m actually worth more than that, regardless of what they think,” she added.
According to White, the $10 million will be utilized in two ways: the $5 million is for rebranding purposes and the other half is for charities that supports independent Black artists.
In addition, White pointed out how this setup is an example how white people oppresses people of color. White then urged the band to help those who are oppressed by being an advocate or an ally, or in their feud’s case, give up the name Lady A because she will never be erased.
Lady Antebellum started calling their band as Lady A as an alias in concerts and tours. In 2010, the band formally applied for the name to be patent and was granted the year after. In contrast, White released her first album in 2010 and claimed usage of the name back in 1987 when she was still starting.
In June of this year, Lady Antebellum announced their band’s new name to the reason the word “antebellum” has racism and slavery backgrounds. The band’s name change was quickly retaliated by many, accusing the trio of not doing proper research, and at the same time calling out White’s attention to the matter.
A report also speaks about the party’s on-going talk about the matter through Zoom, and then backed by the two party’s social media affirmation to the fans, saying “healing was in sight”.
Furthermore, the trio is yet to comment about White’s statement.