Lady Antebellum changes its name
Grammy-winning country group Lady Antebellum is changing its name to Lady A, with members saying they are regretful and embarrassed for not taking into consideration the word’s associations with slavery.
The band members Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood made the announcement Thursday on their social media.
The statement said that they chose the name after the antebellum style home where they shot their first band photos, and it reminded them of Southern styles of music.
But they said in recent weeks, their eyes have been opened to “blind spots we didn’t even know existed” and “the injustices, inequality and biases black women and men have always faced.”
The band said it is deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused and for anyone who felt unsafe, unseen or unvalued.
‘One Tree Hill’ stars ask fans to help fire professor:
Celebrities from the former hit TV show “One Tree Hill” are calling on a university in North Carolina to remove one of its professors after he called the state’s governor “Massa Cooper” on Twitter.
The controversy started in May when Mike Adams, a sociology and criminology professor at University of North Carolina in Wilmington, tweeted he dined with six men at a six-seat table and said he “felt like a free man who was not living in the slave state of North Carolina” before adding “Massa Cooper, let my people go!”
He was referring to the executive order limiting social gatherings signed by Gov. Roy Cooper. A few days after his tweet, an online petition was started to get Adams fired.
Monday, after “Sleepy Hollow” actor and Wilmington resident Orlando Jones tweeted about Adams’ comments, “One Tree Hill” star Sophia Bush called on fans of the show to take action in Wilmington, where the show was filmed during its nearly nine-year run. “This feels like another change for Wilmington that the #OTHfam could make some noise about,” she said on Twitter.
Bush’s co-star, Hilarie Burton Morgan, added she will be discouraging fans from attending the school “until Adams is removed.”
Coachella, Stagecoach canceled:
The Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals have been canceled this year due to coronavirus concerns.
Dr. Cameron Kaiser, Riverside County’s public health officer, signed an order Wednesday canceling the popular festivals outside Palm Springs,
California.
Coachella, a massive music and arts festival, and Stagecoach, a country music event, are typically held in April but were previously postponed until October.
Now, “given the projected circumstances and potential, I would not be comfortable moving forward,” Kaiser said.
Travis Scott, Calvin Harris and Frank Ocean were set to headline Coachella. The Stagecoach lineup included Lil Nas X, Carrie Underwood and Billy Ray Cyrus.
June 12 birthdays:
Composer Richard Sherman is 92. Musician Chick Corea is 79. Sports announcer Marv Albert is 79. Actress Sonia Manzano is 70. Actor Timothy Busfield is 63. Rapper Grandmaster Dee is 58. Comedian Finesse Mitchell is 48. Actor Jason Mewes is 46. Singer-guitarist John Gourley is 39. Singer Chris Young is 35.