Luke Bryan shared his opinion regarding the Lady A name change situation.
Luke Bryan and His Reaction
“You know, I don’t think they were anticipating the aftermath of being called Lady A,” Bryan said during Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen on Tuesday (August 11). “I can say that for years, everyone in the community, in the country music community has really referred to them as Lady A. Like, I would call and say, ‘Hey, get the Lady A guys on the phone.’”
Overall, Bryan said the name change was “a great option for them to choose” at first. He said that it quickly turned into a “tricky” situation. “Like I said, who knows what they’ll have to figure out,” he added. “But what a mess in the aftermath of removing ‘antebellum.’”
Almost all of the reactions on social media were defending White and her use of her stage name.
See the reactions, below.
All About the Lady A Name Change
Lady Antebellum officially changed their name to “Lady A” on June 11. Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley, and David Haywood explained that the term “antebellum” could be offensive to people. They credited the Black Lives Matter movement for the name change.
On June 12, Anita White spoke with Rolling Stone about “Lady A.” She has used it as a stage name for her solo R&B music career for over twenty years. At the time, she claimed that the band did not reach out.
By June 15, the band met with White via Zoom to come to an agreement. “Today, we connected privately with the artist Lady A,” the trio wrote in a social media post. “Transparent, honest, and authentic conversations were had. We are excited to share we are moving forward with positive solutions and common ground. The hurt is turning into hope. More to come.”
On July 8, the band filed a lawsuit at Nashville’s U.S. District Court for their trademark of “Lady A.” “Today we are sad to share that our sincere hope to join together with Anita White in unity and common purpose has ended,” they said in a statement. “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.”
Finally, on July 10, White gave another interview to discuss the lawsuit. She said that she “wasn’t surprised” at what they did. However, the band responded by revealing that White asked for $10 million to give up her stage name.
