Lennon To Ono: Thanks For Ruining My Mother’s Legacy With Your Lawsuit

Hard-rock singer Lennon Murphy, who is being sued by Yoko Ono for trademarking her first name–which is also the name of her band–has spoken out about the suit, and why she has the name she does: “My mother named me after ‘John Lennon that wrote songs, painted, and baked bread with his son.’ She named me for the man, not the pop star”–and this lawsuit, she claims, is not only tainting the memory of her mother, it’s “demeaning the man that John Lennon was and will always be.” (Also, as she points out, if she was really being confused with the ex-Beatle as much as the lawsuit implies, she would have a lot more money–presumably enough to at least make the $50k she needs to get a lawyer to fight Ono in court seem like not as big of a deal as it clearly is to her. Which, whether you agree with Ono or not, is kind of a salient point, especially when you realize that Lennon’s estate rakes in about $25 million a year. Look at the photo: It’s not like we’re talking about Gallagher/Gallagher II level-confusion here, you know?) Lennon’s full statement, taken from her drowning-in-traffic Web site, after the jump.

Yesterday I received notice that Yoko Ono had filed a law suit against me, asking for a cancellation of the trademark that I own for the name “Lennon.” This could very well mean the career that I have worked so hard at, the one you all have believed in, may come to an end. I wanted to address the situation to all my fans because without you I am nothing and it’s not fair to everyone who has believed in my music not to be properly informed of this pure bullshit.

When I first started playing music at 14, I was known for the most part as “The Lennon Murphy Band”. Not a name I was very fond of, no one could ever agree on anything so it made sense. A few months later some of the shows started being marketed using my full name as well as some that just using “Lennon.” There was never really any consistancy but there was well enough to justify stating that “Lennon” had been used in fact since 1997. When I signed with Arista Records in 2000 at the age of 18, a marketing decision was made to continue being known just as Lennon. In all honesty, I didn’t care. I was just happy to sign a record deal, make an album, and pay my bills. Kathleen Murphy

All of you out there make me who I am, it’s just as much your business when someone wants to take it away.

Lennon

Lennon [Official site]