Lady Antebellum changes name to Lady A due to association with slavery
Members of the country band are "regretful and embarrassed" and "deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused."
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Country music group Lady Antebellum has changed its name to the nickname it already commonly uses, Lady A, due to the word "antebellum" and its association with slavery. The band issued a lengthy statement on Thursday explaining where the name came from and why the band no longer wants to use it.
"We named our band after the southern 'antebellum' style home where we took our first photos," the statement reads in part, noting that the word reminded them of the tradition of southern music . "But we are regretful and embarrassed to say that 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."
Dear fans... pic.twitter.com/7JlcH2NMl6
— Lady A (@ladya) June 11, 2020
The three-person group was formed in Nashville in 2006, and has won numerous Grammy Awards and country music awards.
"We are deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused and for anyone who has felt unsafe, unseen or unvalued," the statement said. "Causing pain was never our hearts' intention, but it doesn't change the fact that indeed, it did just that."
The word "Antebellum" refers to a time before a war, but is usually associated with the time of slavery before the US Civil War. It is also the title of an upcoming horror film starring Janelle Monáe that appears to transport a modern-day black woman back in time and into slavery.
The name change comes amid two weeks of worldwide protests against racism and police brutality that follow the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, in police custody in Minneapolis.
