John Legend, the Grammy-winning singer, recently opened up about a surprising obstacle he faced before officially adopting his iconic stage name.
The 46-year-old star revealed that a porn producer who also dabbled in music almost stood in his way.
In the premiere episode of Amazon Studios' series "Words + Music," airing Nov. 30 on MGM+, Legend shared the story behind how he became "Legend."
Before his breakthrough, he went by his birth name, John Roger Stephens. While working with Kanye West on West's 2004 debut album The College Dropout, Legend met poet J. Ivy, who was impressed by his musical talent.
"Now J. heard me singing, playing, and doing all I was doing on those 'College Dropout' tracks, and he was impressed," Legend recalled. "He said, 'Man, we're gonna have to call you the Legend.'"
The moniker immediately appealed to Legend because of his "old soul" style and throwback voice, People reported.
Although he had not yet signed a record deal, he decided to embrace the name. "It's going to make people pay attention, and then I just got to go live up to it," he explained.
John Legend Had to 'Negotiate' with a Porn Producer 'Who Dabbled in Rockabilly Music' to Become John Legend https://t.co/Gu7D9gKGDO
— People (@people) November 30, 2025
How John Legend Secured His Iconic Name
However, there was a legal hurdle. Legend discovered that a porn producer named Johnny Legend, who also performed rockabilly music, held a similar name.
"The fact that he made music, rockabilly music, and his name was Johnny Legend, meant that there was a possible trademark infringement case," Legend said.
According to DailyMail, to resolve the issue, Legend's team negotiated a deal with Johnny Legend. "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 explained.
"He wouldn't sue me. I wouldn't sue him. He wouldn't try to get into the soul music business pretending to be John Legend. And 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."
Legend also detailed how J. Ivy originally came up with the name.
After hearing Legend's music during recording sessions, Ivy exclaimed, "Man, you sound like one of the legends! You a legend, you a legend! Matter of fact, that's what I'm going to call you from now on. I'm going to call you Legend."
The name stuck, and Legend would soon sign with Columbia Records, releasing his debut album I Get Lifted in 2004 on his 26th birthday.
Originally published on Enstarz
