ABC/Chris HolloThe battle over usage of the name Lady A continues to rage on, as blues singer Anita White explains why talks broke down with the country group formerly known as Lady Antebellum.
Last month, the band announced their decision to drop the word “Antebellum” from their name, in acknowledgement of the word’s ties to slavery. There was just one problem: White, who’s an independent artist, has been performing under the moniker Lady A for three decades.
The two acts entered into talks, with the band hoping to share the name and maybe even release a song together to cement their harmonious coexistence.
But White tells ABC News that she and the band could never come to terms with what that coexistence would look like, saying their talks fell apart because the band’s efforts towards a compromise were ultimately “insincere.”
“They disregarded me as if I’d never asked the question,” says the singer, recalling the times when she asked the band and their team about the logistics of sharing the name.
“The talks kind of broke down when I could see the insincerity. What privilege allows you to do is think that what you’re doing is right and that you don’t have to explain yourself,” adds Anita, who’s Black.
Earlier this month, the band filed suit against White, asking a court to affirm their right to use the name Lady A without paying her the $10 million she and her team requested. That amount of money, the blues singer says, would have been evenly split between her own rebranding process and donations to Black Lives Matter, local activism efforts, and support of other independent artists who find themselves in similar disputes.
By Carena Liptak
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