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Grammy Award-winning Lady Antebellum changes band name with groveling apology

June 11, 2020 | | Print Article

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In another case of woke capitulation, the popular country music band Lady Antebellum announced that it will henceforth be known as Lady A.

The Grammy Award-winning trio announced to their millions of social media followers that their “eyes opened wide” in the wake of protests of the death of George Floyd and, for the first time since they launched the band in 2006, they would be sporting a new name.

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

“As a band, we have strived for our music to be a refuge … inclusive of all,” Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood wrote in a message to fans.

“We’ve watched and listened more than ever these last few weeks, and our hearts have been stirred with conviction, our eyes opened wide to the injustices, inequality and biases black women and men have always faced and continue to face everyday,” they continued in the post addressed to 1.6 million followers on Instagram and 2.4 million Twitter fans.

“When we set out together almost 14 years ago, we named our band after the Southern ‘Antebellum’ style where we took our first photos,” the band explained, noting the influences of rock, blues, gospel and R&B 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. We are deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused,” their message continued.

For the record, Merriam Webster says the following:

Antebellum means “before the war,” but it wasn’t widely associated with the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865) until after that conflict was over. The word comes from the Latin phrase ante bellum (literally, “before the war”), and its earliest known print appearance in English dates back to the 1840s.

The trio explained that the new name was actually the “nickname” given to them by fans.

“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 and move forward as Lady A, the nickname our fans gave us almost from the start,” they wrote.

“Causing pain was never our hearts’ intention, but it doesn’t change the fact that indeed, it did just that. So today, we speak up and make a change. We hope you will dig in and join us,” the new Lady A shred, adding that though they feel “Awakened,” this is only one step of many.

“We want to do better. We are committed to examining our individual and collective impact and making the necessary changes to practice antiracism,” they wrote, announcing they would be making a donation to the Equal Justice Initiative.

The extreme move came amid a string of recent actions that have come about as a kind of side-effect of the protests, with a seemingly endless stream of cancel culture victims making headlines in recent days. From the cancellation of the long-running reality television series “COPS” to the removal of the classic film “Gone With the Wind” by HBO’s streaming platform, the mob continued to move the goal posts on what is now acceptable in American culture.

Even the restaurant chain Cracker Barrel has been targeted for apparently having a racist name, which no one seemed to notice before.

Disney, which has happily championed liberal causes before, is now being pressured about the “history and storyline” of its popular Splash Mountain ride in its theme parks. Former Fox News and NBC News host Megyn Kelly came under fire for condemning the decision by HBO to remove “Gone With the Wind.”

“Are we going to pull all of the movies in which women are treated as sex objects too?” Kelly tweeted to her 2.4 million followers. “Guess how many films we’ll have left? Where does this end??”

As Fox News host Laura Ingraham noted in her show’s monologue Wednesday that “as we have been reminded over these last 14 days or so, the culture is where the battle for our future will be won or lost.”

“What we are witnessing is a relentless propaganda war against the old teachings about America,” she said. “It’s an effort to smear our history and our patriotic spirit.”

She warned that “the more you beg, the more they take.”

And for now, it seems the renamed Lady A is taking a bow for the “courageous” move, with many social media users applauding the change. Plenty of others on Twitter, however, slammed the “groveling” and pandering.

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Frieda Powers
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