John Legend Reveals He ‘Negotiated A Deal’ With Porn Producer Over Use Of His Stage Name
John Legend says that prior to adopting his stage name, he had to clear one hurdle – negotiations with a porn producer who went by a similar name, Johnny Legend.
Legend, whose given surname is Stephens, explained the process of landing on his current stage name in an episode of "The Jonathan Ross Show" on Saturday, The Independent reported. Legend said on the show that the "Legend" title started with a friend, until Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, "blew it up when he put it on one of his recordings."
Legend said on the show, per The Independent, that he decided to "make a statement" by debuting with the stage name John Legend. He explained: “I was born John Stephens. A friend of mine started calling me John Legend. Kanye kind of blew it up when he put it on one of his recordings. When I was deciding whether to go out as John Legend or John Stephens (I thought, Legend) it’ll make a statement before I even show up. Then I found out someone is called Johnny Legend – he was also a porn producer. I’ve never met him before. My manager, we had to clear the trademark. He reached out and negotiated a deal. I would always be John Legend and he’d always be Johnny Legend and we’d never cross.”
Legend told MTV in 2008 that he "never would have chosen" his stage name himself, but eventually, enough people started calling him by the moniker that he decided to "just go for it." Legend is seemingly referencing the producer and director of "My Breakfast with Blassie," a 1983 film starring Andy Kaufman, as well as explicit films like 1977's "Young, Hot 'N' Nasty Teenage Cruises." Per the East Bay Express, Johnny Legend is also a stage name — the producer was born Martin Margulies.
In 2018, his wife Chrissy Teigen brought up the fact that her husband "didn't even take his last name" when responding to a tweet questioning why some women don't take their husband's last name after marriage. "I am not anti-taking the last name at all," Teigen explained in a follow-up tweet. "I was going to. Just never got around to it and it isn't even the name he goes by. It wasn't some grand statement not to."
Elsewhere during the episode, Legend discussed the 10th anniversary of his hit song “All of Me”, which coincided with the 10th anniversary of his wedding to his wife Chrissy Teigen. He said, “The first time I sang ‘All of Me’ live was at our wedding. I haven’t sung at a lot of weddings. Occasionally… I’m kind of expensive. It’s been played at a lot of weddings.”
