Anita White Says Lady Antebellum Is Positioning Her As An "Angry Black Woman"

Bustle ^ | 7/10/2020 | Jessica Wang

[simpson96]

Anita White, a blues, soul, and funk singer professionally known as Lady A, has responded to Lady Antebellum's new lawsuit, saying she won't let them position her as an “angry Black woman.” (snip) Lady Antebellum dropped the Civil War-era “Antebellum” and changed their name to Lady A in June, citing “necessary changes to practice antiracism” in the wake of nationwide racial justice protests. But what may have started as a genuine gesture turned out to be much more complicated: White has operated under Lady A for two decades.

Now, in an effort to affirm usage of the name, the trio has filed a lawsuit against White and cited their trademark ownership after White requested $10 million.(snip)

She continued, (snip) 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.”(snip)

White has also claimed that the trio wanted to record a song together and film the process, documentary style, in the interest of performative allyship. In a Rolling Stone feature published on July 10, White detailed her meeting with the band. “We were on the call with our teams and had some ideas. I could be ‘Lady A the Artist,’ they could be 'Lady A the Band'; that way, we could let people know that works,” she said, adding that the band wanted them both to use the name Lady A, which she didn't think would work. Eventually, she claimed, "They came back with their agreement, which didn’t address my concerns, and I knew what they wanted. They wanted a story that showed us getting along. They wanted me to make them look good in the eyes of the public, and that’s why that Zoom call was so important to them.”

[ETCM]

The most ridiculous part is going from Antebellum to A. I mean everyone knows what the A stands for. Not that there’s anything wrong with the word. Bad things have happened throughout human existence. But if you want to distance yourself, this isn’t how you do it.

[Flash Bazbeaux]

If she’s been using it before they were ever formed, and they got a registration for a trademark which they never used {sometimes called a “defensive registration” to keep someone else from getting a mark too similar to yours] and they sat back and did nothing while she used it, they may not have any rights against the singer, even though they registered it.

The way trademark law works, you can’t just file a million registrations with the trademark office and then never use them in trade, and hope to keep ownership of them when a bona fide user comes along. Especially one who’s been around for 20 years, even before you existed.

Because trademarks rights are all about use.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Or they could claim they're Southies from Sommerville and call themselves:

Effin A

[Thommas]

Lady Antebellum, racist to the core. Stealing the name of a black blues singer who has used the name "Lady A" for 20 years.

Real, observed RACISM! And the MSM is taking the side of the bigoted white chicks..

[Arcadian Empire]

Lady Antebellum should rename itself Charday Hill for Charles, Dave, and Hillary.

[Dexter Morgan]

I am a little surprised Lady Antebellum hasn’t figured out this is a losing battle for them, or had someone tell them to move on.

Rich white singers going after a poor black singer? Wow.

[Arcadian Empire]

- or Lady BLM -

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Exactly! Would have been less offensive to just keep the original name at this point. They are digging themselves into a hole.

[moovova]

“..., citing “necessary changes to practice antiracism”...”

And then they steamroller over a black woman.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Here’s a good name: Lady Antebellum. Just admit defeat and announce that you’re going back to the original band name. Should have never changed the name to begin with.

[deks]

They want to start a war over the name, then how about Lady Belligerant or Lady Bellicose, although someone suggested Lady Annabelle which I think is lovely and even sounds a lot like the original.

[Tax-chick]

Pass the popcorn.

[RedMonqey]

In their efforts to prove how ‘woke’ they are, hownon racist they are, they are actually doing real damage to a black woman.

How typical (historically) for a leftist. From the Great Society programs, education reform, desegregation, busing, to gun control to ‘defunding police”, it’s the black man who suffers from liberal’s efforts to help the black man.