Lady A (the band formerly known as Lady Antebellum) have settled their lawsuit with Anita “Lady A” White over use of their shared name. The parties filed a joint request for dismissal to a judge in a federal Tennessee court yesterday (January 31), Pitchfork can confirm. Terms of the settlement have not been disclosed. Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for Lady A and Anita “Lady A” White for comment and more information.
The Nashville country band changed its name in June 2020 amid the racial-justice reckonings happening around the murder of George Floyd. The trio explained, “We did not take into account the associations that weigh down this word referring to the period of history before the Civil War, which includes slavery.”
The Seattle-based blues artist Anita White is a Black woman who had performed as Lady A for decades by the time of the band’s announcement. White told Rolling Stone at the time, “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.”
Lady A filed their lawsuit against White in July 2020, claiming that she had asked the band for $10 million. White said they had rejected other efforts to compromise, and that she wanted to use the funds to support other Black artists. White had also said that Lady A’s efforts to take the moniker for themselves temporarily prevented her from uploading new material to streaming services. She filed her own countersuit in September of 2020, seeking unspecified damages for trademark infringement and unfair competition. She released a new song titled “My Name Is All I Got” at the end of that year.
In a June 2021 interview with Rolling Stone, White detailed her experience of a full year of wading through the name dispute. “Do I feel like I’m being heard? Not by them, no,” she said.
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