The Grammy Award-winning country music group Lady Antebellum will henceforth be known just as Lady A, after the band interrogated the nostalgia for the pre-Civil War era, "which includes slavery," implied by their former name.
The band explained Thursday that they'd named themselves "Lady Antebellum" back in 2006 after the "southern 'antebellum' style home where we took our first photos" — AKA a slave plantation — but are now "regretful and embarrassed to say that we did not take into account the associations that weigh down this word … we are deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused and for anyone who has felt unsafe, unseen, or unvalued."
Lady A acknowledged that they have "no excuse for our lateness to this realization" and that they aim to "grow into better humans" going forward. Read their full statement below. Jeva Lange
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