American Singer John Legend reveals he once had to negotiate with a p*rn producer to use his stage name

American singer John Legend has opened up again about the unusual legal drama he faced before he could officially call himself John Legend. According to the 46-year-old star, there was already a man in the entertainment industry using a very similar name and not just any man, but a p*rn producer who also did rockabilly music, Daily Mail reported. On the MGM+ show Words + Music, Legend explained: Lo and behold, theres a p*rn producer I kid you not who dabbled in rockabilly music, and he went by Johnny Legend. Because Johnny Legend also made music, the situation became a possible trademark infringement case. This meant the R&B star couldnt legally use John Legend without an agreement. We had to find Johnny Legend, negotiate with him, and cut a mutually exclusive deal, John said. He was Johnny Legend, and I was John Legend. He wouldnt sue me, I wouldnt sue him. Legend joked that he kept his promise:I didnt produce any p*rn, didnt make any rockabilly music pretending to be Johnny Legend. The bizarre saga began after spoken-word poet J. Ivy first gave him the name John Legend while they were working on Kanye Wests The College Dropout album in 2004. At the time, Legend didnt even have a record deal yet but the name stuck. The original Johnny Legend, described on IMDb as an actor, director, rockabilly singer, film historian, and wrestling promoter, reportedly released a crude comedy film Teenage Cruisers in 1977 and recorded several rockabilly tracks.