John Legend spills on having to negotiate with PORN PRODUCER over his iconic stage name

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John Legend revealed he had to negotiate with a pornography producer to secure the rights to use his famous stage name.

The 46-year-old singer had previously shared that he made a deal with adult film producer Johnny Legend to become the one and only ‘John Legend.’

But now Legend has shared another detail in the bizarre legal obstacle. 

It seems Johnny Legend is also a musician, which increases the chances that a trademark violation may have occurred.

As Legend shared on the MGM+ show Words + Music, unbelievably, a pornographer was also involved in rockabilly music, and actually used the stage name Johnny Legend.

He explained that because the artist created rockabilly music and used the name Johnny Legend, there was a potential legal issue regarding trademark infringement.

He explained that they needed to locate Johnny Legend and come to an agreement with him. This deal had to clearly establish that the other person was Johnny Legend, while he would be known as John Legend.

We both agreed not to take legal action against each other. He also promised not to try and pass himself off as John Legend in the music industry, and I made sure to fulfill my part of the deal.

‘I didn’t produce any porn, didn’t make any rockabilly music pretending to be Johnny Legend.’

The funny story followed Legend’s explanation of how poet J. Ivy came up with his stage name, which he started using even before he had a record contract.

Legend previously shared the Johnny Legend story back in 2023.

I hadn’t met him previously. We had to get the trademark approved through my manager, and then he contacted me and we worked out an agreement. We decided I would always be known as John Legend, while he would always be Johnny Legend, and we agreed to keep our paths separate, he explained on the Jonathan Ross Show.

Johnny is a remarkably versatile talent. IMDb describes him as a ‘modern-day Renaissance man’ – he’s an actor, director, and rockabilly singer, but also an expert on and fan of low-budget films, and even works as a wrestling manager and promoter.

According to IMDb, he has a history in music, including recording several songs for Rollin’ Rock Records, owned by Ronny Weiser, and co-writing the song “Pencil Neck Geek” in 1977.

In 1977, Johnny also released the crude porno comedy, Teenage Cruisers, according to his IMDb.

John Stephens, known professionally as Legend, got his stage name from a friend, the poet J. Ivy. Ivy came up with the name after listening to Legend’s music.

J. Ivy shared in a 2024 interview with The Daily Mail that he came up with the name ‘Legend’ while collaborating with Kanye West on the 2004 album, The College Dropout.

Ivy shared with The Daily Mail that she first met John Stephens on the night she recorded her contribution to the song ‘Never Let Me Down’.

At West’s encouragement, the singer of ‘Ordinary People’ started listening to Legend’s music, which led to them going to the recording studio.

I had no idea he was around, so I was really surprised to see him! I said, “Hey, what’s going on?” Then I told him I loved his music, saying it reminded me of classic old-school tunes – the kind my parents used to play!

I told him, “You remind me of the greats! You’re a legend!” I started calling him ‘Legend’ right away. It was just the two of us talking, and a few days later we were relaxing in the studio lounge, listening to records.

I’ve been following John Stephens for a while now, and it’s easy to forget he actually started releasing music under his real name! Before becoming known as something else, he put out albums simply as John Stephens – it’s what he’s always been known as, legally and personally.

I remember when John Stephens first came onto the scene. We were all hanging out, maybe 10 or 12 of us, and when he walked in, everyone just erupted, yelling things like, ‘John Stephens is here!’ and ‘What’s up, John Stephens!’ It was so energetic! I instantly blurted out, ‘You’re John Legend now! That’s what we’re calling you!’ And honestly, the name just… stuck. It felt right, and thankfully, everyone agreed!

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2025-12-01 04:51