Lady A. Not pictured: the real Lady A.
Photo: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images

The band formerly known as Lady Antebellum and blues singer Anita White have settled their trademark dispute over the name “Lady A.” The country-music group and the solo act filed a joint motion in Nashville federal court on Monday, January 31, “to dismiss the litigation” previously pursued by both parties. Billboard reports that the “terms of the agreement, including who can continue to use what name or if any money changed hands, were not made public.” Vulture reached out to both parties for comment.

A refresher course on the battle of the Ladies A: In June 2020, the band then known as Lady Antebellum, made up of Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley, and Dave Haywood (all white), announced that after many “conversations with some of our closest Black friends and colleagues, we have decided to drop the word ‘Antebellum’ from our name and move forward as Lady A.” The group totally negated this nod to the Black Lives Matter movement a month later, when they sued Seattle-based blues singer Anita “Lady A” White for exclusive use of the name. White, a Black performer, had been working under the “Lady A” name since 1987. When the band announced their name change, White sought a $10 million payment for the damage it would do to her publicity and livelihood, prompting the lawsuit. In September 2020, White filed a countersuit against the band for “lost sales, diminished brand identity, and diminution in the value of and goodwill associated with the mark.”

Neither party has posted publicly about the settlement yet, but yesterday, White posted a message to her Instagram that says, “If you don’t like being a doormat then get off the floor.” She added the hashtag #TheTruthIsLoud. Here’s hoping that means she got what she was owed and can keep performing under her name instead of having it stolen from her by a group that named themselves after the pre-emancipation South. Fuckin’ A.

Anita White and Lady A Settle Name-Trademark Lawsuit