As protests featuring Black Lives Matter go on, monuments fall to the ground, and accusations of racism seep into every facet of American life, the demand for cultural justice only burgeons. Today, another victim was claimed as a popular country group yielded to a remarkably petty complaint about an adjective that simply means "pre war."
The artist formerly known as Lady Antebellum will go on as "Lady A," they announced on Thursday, after criticism that their name evoked an element of racism for being associated with the southern United States.
Dear fans... pic.twitter.com/7JlcH2NMl6
— Lady A (@ladya) June 11, 2020
"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," a statement from the band said on Thursday.
The band admitted in the statement that they no idea the word most used to describe historic architecture held any negative connotation, but without hesitation they succumbed to pressure to change. Inspired by a home associated with their early days as a musical group in Nashville, the trio chose Lady Antebellum as a name that paid tribute to music of the south including Country, R&B, Gospel, Blues, and Rock & Roll.
But weeks of politically charged protests have worn on the band, and, with a name change, they admit culpability in using a word associated with a part of the country that is most decidedly not woke. But many fans of 'Lady A' didn't heap praise on the band's swift acquiescence to politically correct groupthink the way the band likely hoped.
Now I guess Dixie Chicks, Alabama, Florida Georgia line, Baton Rouge should all change their “southern” band names too? Congrats on your new name.
— Jackamo52 (@jackamo52) June 11, 2020
Fans also took the time to remind Lady A that there was another country group that pandered to progressives back in 2003, and things didn't work out all that well.
Woke fools. The word literally means in Latin "before the war". Any war, not just the U.S. Civil War. Their Country music fans won't like this pandering and Lady A will fall like the Dixie Chicks.
— Darren T Viera (@DarrenTViera) June 11, 2020
Others noted the absurdity of a name change because aggressive woke protesters decided to be offended by a benign adjective.
Gonna need you to take "lady" out of your name too.
— Sydney Watson (@SydneyLWatson) June 11, 2020
As a woman, I feel attacked and vilified. It's also not inclusive of transgender people. Or non-binary people.
Please be more considerate, bigots.
L?a?d?y? ?A?n?t?e?b?e?l?l?u?m?
— Hans Fiene (@HansFiene) June 11, 2020
?L?a?d?y? ?A?
?L?a?d?y? ?A? ?M?e?l?l?e?n?c?a?m?p?
Lady Mellencamp
While a simple name change to a nickname they already used doesn't seem like a big deal, Lady Antebellum's statement of apology is chilling. This is a prime example of surrendering the knee to the militant thought police. When a group of people have the power to make words a crime, no thing and no person is safe from the guillotine of virtue.