LADY Antebellum have been slammed by blues singer Lady A for "pure privilege" and failing to "reach out" when they chose to rename themselves Lady A.
Anita White, 61, has been using the stage name for over 20 years and has accused the country band of changing their name simply "because of a Black Lives Matter incident that, for them, is just a moment in time."
The band officially changed their name to Lady A after realizing the association “antebellum” has with the pre-Civil War South and slavery.
The band, which formed back in 2006, made the announcement on social media on Thursday and admitted to feeling “regretful and embarrassed” that they hadn’t made the connection sooner.
However, Anita criticized the band for failing to recognize the connotations of their name earlier.
"This is my life. Lady A is my brand, I’ve used it for over 20 years, and I’m proud of what I’ve done," she told Rolling Stone.
"This is too much right now. They’re using the name because of a Black Lives Matter incident that, for them, is just a moment in time. If it mattered, it would have mattered to them before. It shouldn’t have taken George Floyd to die for them to realize that their name had a slave reference to it.
"It’s an opportunity for them to pretend they’re not racist or pretend this means something to them. If it did, they would’ve done some research. And I’m not happy about that. You found me on Spotify easily — why couldn’t they?"
The singer added that she refused to stop using her name, and admitted that although she was unaware of what the band may do moving forward about the clash, she was already reviewing her options with a lawyer.
"For them to not even reach out is pure privilege," she added.
"I’m not going to lay down and let this happen to me. But now the burden of proof is on me to prove that my name is in fact mine, and I don’t even know how much I’ll have to spend to keep it."
In a statement addressed to their fans on Thursday, the band explained why they had chosen their original name in the first place, what brought on the change and their dedication to “doing better” in the future.
Members Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley wrote in a collective statement: “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.
“[We’ll] move forward as Lady A, the nickname our fans gave us almost from the start.”
Fans have long questioned the trio’s choice of name, and the members made sure to address that in their statement.
The Need You Now singers said they “make no excuse” for arriving late at this realization, but they are learning from it and “taking action.”
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