Country band Lady A sues blues singer Lady A over name change scandal

This Oct. 16, 2019, file photo shows Dave Haywood, from left, Hillary Scott, and Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum at 2019 CMT Artists of the Year in Nashville, Tenn. | Al Wagner, Invision via Associated Press

Lady A sues Lady A over Lady A scandal.

Lady A — the country pop band previously known as Lady Antebellum — announced Wednesday that it plans on suing Lady A, a blues singer who has been using the name for more than a decade, over the name change controversy, CBS News reports.

What’s happening:

• In June, Lady Antebellum announced it was changing its band name to Lady A in response to the nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice.
• Lady A, the blues singer, asked for an apology from the band over the name change, saying the decision took away from the singer, whose real name is Anita White.
• Now, the band Lady A is suing the singer Lady A. The band explained why in a statement to CBS News:
• “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.”
• The band decided to sue after “White’s attempt to enforce purported trademark rights in a mark that plaintiffs have held for more than a decade,” a complaint said, according to CBS News.
• The band does not seek monetary damages from the lawsuit.

Criticism of the band

• White hasn’t responded to multiple outlets about the lawsuit. She did tell Rolling Stone earlier this summer that the name change didn’t sit well with her.
• White told Rolling Stone: “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.”

from Deseret News https://ift.tt/3feKfAB