Photo by Tonje Thilesen
The FKA in FKA twigs stands for “formerly known as,” the result of a longstanding legal dispute between FKA twigs, aka Tahliah Barnett, and Linda and Laura Good, who have performed as the Twigs since the 90s, as Billboard reports.
Back in 2013, when Barnett still performed as Twigs, she reached out to the Goods and offered $15,000 for the right to use the name, according to Billboard. The Goods, who hold a trademark on the name, sued Barnett in April 2014, forcing the switch to FKA twigs. But As Billboard points out, that doesn’t seem to have been enough: The Goods are still pushing Barnett to change her name unless they come to a more substantial financial arrangement.
Initially, the Goods sought a restraining order against Barnett. Barnett and her label, Beggars Group, argued that bands such as Dinosaur Jr. (formerly Dinosaur) and blink-182 (formerly Blink) have changed their names to similar ones in the past. The restraining order was denied, but the Goods retained the right to sue in the future.
Read our recent interview with FKA twigs here.
