Singer John Legend has shared more astonishing details about the peculiar legal obstacle he faced at the start of his career: having to negotiate with a porn producer to secure the rights to his now-iconic stage name.
The Unlikely Name Dispute
The 46-year-old star, born John Stephens, previously disclosed he had to reach an agreement with a man named Johnny Legend, an adult film producer. However, in a recent appearance on the MGM+ show Words + Music, Legend elaborated on why this was more than just a quirky coincidence.
The complication arose because Johnny Legend also had an interest in music, specifically rockabilly. This shared connection to the music industry elevated the situation from a simple oddity to a potential legal case. "And lo and behold," Legend recounted, "There's a porn producer - I kid you not - a porn producer who dabbled in rockabilly music, and he went by the name Johnny Legend."
He explained the core of the issue: "The fact that he made music, rockabilly music, and his name was Johnny Legend, meant that there was a possible trademark infringement case."
Striking a Deal
To clear the path for his career, the Ordinary People singer had to proactively resolve the matter. Legend's management team had to track down Johnny Legend and negotiate a formal, mutually exclusive agreement.
"We had to find Johnny Legend, negotiate with him, cut a mutually exclusive deal stating that he was Johnny Legend, and I was John Legend," he stated. The pact ensured that neither party would sue the other. Crucially, Johnny Legend agreed not to venture into the soul music business pretending to be John Legend.
Legend humorously affirmed he has kept his side of the bargain: "I'm happy to make clear that I kept my side of the agreement. I didn't produce any porn, didn't make any rockabilly music pretending to be Johnny Legend."
The Origin of 'John Legend'
This humorous story follows the well-known origin of how he received the name. The star was crowned 'John Legend' by his friend, poet J. Ivy. In a 2024 interview with The Daily Mail, J. Ivy recalled the moment on Kanye West's 2004 album The College Dropout.
After hearing Legend's music, Ivy was so impressed he told him, "Man, you sound like one of the legends! You a legend... Matter of fact, that's what I'm going to call you from now on." The name stuck immediately when Ivy used it in a room full of people, and John Stephens officially became John Legend.
As for the other Johnny Legend, his IMDb profile describes him as a 'modern-day Renaissance man', an actor, director, and rockabilly singer who recorded for Ronny Weiser's Rollin' Rock Records and co-wrote the song Pencil Neck Geek in 1977.
