Blues singer, Anita White, who has performed under the stage name Lady A for more than 30 years, is countersuing the country trio formerly known as Lady Antebellum over the rights to the name Lady A. According to Rolling Stone, White is seeking unspecified damages and music royalties citing "lost sales, diminished brand identity, and diminution in the value of and goodwill associated with the mark."
The country trio, consisting of Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, first sued White on July 8, claiming she had demanded $10 million from them and that they needed "to ask a court to affirm our right to continue to use the name Lady A."
After the news broke, White told Vulture that the band had rejected several of her other attempts to compromise and that she had hoped to split the $10 million evenly between her rebranding efforts and funding to support other independent Black artists
The Grammy-winning band first announced their name change on June 11. "After much personal reflection, band discussion, prayer and many honest conversations with some of our closest Black friends and colleagues, we have decided to drop the word 'antebellum' from our name and move forward as Lady A, the nickname our fans gave us almost from the start.," the trio wrote in a statement on social media at the time.
At the time, the trio had not yet consulted with White who has been using the name for decades. After White spoke out, they all connected over Zoom, where White says they rejected her attempts to co-exist.
"Five million dollars is nothing, and I’m actually worth more than that, regardless of what they think," White previously told Vulture. "But here we go again with another white person trying to take something from a Black person, even though they say they’re trying to help. If you want to be an advocate or an ally, you help those who you’re oppressing. And that might require you to give up something because I am not going to be erased."
The full lawsuit can be seen here.