Anita White calls out the country music trio following lawsuit over moniker dispute, saying 'You don't get to just come and take because you have that privilege.'
- Jul 12, 2020
AceShowbiz - Blues singer Anita White has vowed she is "not going to be erased" amid Lady A's lawsuit against her.
The "Need You Now" hitmakers, formerly known as Lady Antebellum, decided to adjust their stage name last month (Jun20) after acknowledging that the word 'Antebellum' has close ties with slavery in America's southern states.
Washington state-based artist White, who had been using Lady A professionally for years, objected to the name change at the time, but the two sides appeared to settle the dispute privately within days.
However, things turned nasty on Wednesday (08Jul20) when bandmates Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood, and Hillary Scott accused White of trying to cash in on the situation by demanding $10 million (£8 million) to stop performing as Lady A.
Now White has responded to the lawsuit in an interview with Vulture, telling the outlet, "I think they always knew what they were gonna do. I was quiet for two weeks because I was trying to believe that it was going to be okay and that they would realise that it would be easier to just change their name, or pay me for my name."
She added that the money she had requested was actually $5 million (£3.9 million) to rebrand and start over while the other half was to be donated to charities of her choice.
"Five million dollars is nothing, and I'm actually worth more than that, regardless of what they think," she sighed. "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."
White added that she had initially suggested that the former Lady Antebellum could call themselves "Band Lady A, or Lady A the Band, and I could be Lady A the Artist," they "didn't want to do that."
"You don't get to just come and take because you have that privilege," she said. "We don't have that luxury or that privilege, so we need somebody to help us and lift us up."
Lady A have yet to respond to White's comments.
