Luke Bryan weighed in on what he thinks about his friends in Lady A dropping “Antebellum” from their name. During an appearance on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live on Tuesday (August 11th) night, Luke said, “I don't think they were anticipating the aftermath of being called Lady A. I can say that, for years, everyone in the community, in the country music community, has really referred to them as Lady A.” He added, “Who knows what they'll have to figure out, but, god, what a mess in the aftermath of removing 'antebellum.'”
Luke is referring to the controversy Lady A stirred up when they learned after the fact that an African American blues singer had gone by the professional name of Lady A for decades. The trio reached out to the woman, named Anita White, and initally things seems to be moving in a positive direction. The breakdown came when, according to the group Lady A, White asked for a $10 million payment in exchange for the group using the name. They filed a lawsuit against White stating, “Reluctantly we have come to the conclusion that we need to ask a court to affirm our right to continue to use the name Lady A, a trademark we have held for many years.”