Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Dave Haywood open up about their name change, admitting Black Lives Matter movement was the catalyst behind their decision.
- December 23, 2020
AceShowbiz - Lady A star Charles Kelley has revealed the country band changed their name to do their bit as part of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The group was formerly known as Lady Antebellum, but announced their decision to adopt a new moniker back in June (20) as they explained that they wanted to distance themselves from the term "Antebellum", which has ties to the slave-owners of the Confederate South.
However, their decision angered blues singer Anita White, who performed as Lady A, and led to a number of angry lawsuits.
Appearing on "The Tamron Hall Show" on Monday (21Dec20), Charles and bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood opened up about why they'd waited so long to change their name as Charles explained it was the Black Lives Matter movement gaining traction earlier this year that prompted them to take the plunge.
"I think the word to me that resonates the most this year has been 'blind spot.' And I think I am so guilty of…I didn't think about it," he mused. "You know, we came up with the name thinking about the antebellum home…I don't know. It's so naive now looking back, but I think, as we've grown up, we all have kids now."
"I mean, why now? Well, we're a lot older, we look at the world a lot different. We're trying to leave the world a little bit better, too, for our kids and the next generation. And we want to be a part of change."
Hillary concurred, "We realised, you know, over the summer I think not touring and watching just this movement happen that is so needed in this country and around the world, we started to see what our part was, what part of our first steps and making a difference could be. And so our name changing was the first step."
