Stevie Nicks has called out her former Fleetwood Mac bandmate Lindsey Buckingham for what she says is his “factually inaccurate” and “revisionist” account of the events which led to him being fired from the group.
Up to now, Nicks has kept her own counsel on the reasons behind her former partner being jettisoned from the soft rock legends in 2018, but just days after Buckingham gave an interview to the LA Times laying out his version of what transpired, taking some verbal shots at Nicks in the process, the singer has spoken up to reject his claims.
In his interview, Buckingham suggested that Nicks issued a ‘him or me’ ultimatum to the band, in a bid to assert more control over the group.
“I guess the singer has to stay,” he mused. “The figurehead has to stay.”
"You could do a whole analysis on Stevie at this point in her life and what she’s allowed to happen and what she’s allowed to slip away from her,” the guitarist added. “Her creativity, at least for a while it seemed like she wasn’t in touch with that. Same with the level of energy she once had onstage. I think that was hard for her, seeing me jump around in an age-inappropriate way. Also, she’s lonely. She’s alone. She has the people who work for her, and I’m sure she has friends, but you know.”
Nicks issued her own scathing response to the guitarist’s claims via a statement given to Rolling Stone.
Her statement in full reads:
“It’s unfortunate that Lindsey has chosen to tell a revisionist history of what transpired in 2018 with Fleetwood Mac. His version of events is factually inaccurate, and while I’ve never spoken publicly on the matter, preferring to not air dirty laundry, certainly it feels the time has come to shine a light on the truth.
“Following an exceedingly difficult time with Lindsey at MusiCares in New York, in 2018, I decided for myself that I was no longer willing to work with him. I could publicly reflect on the many reasons why, and perhaps I will do that someday in a memoir, but suffice it to say we could start in 1968 and work up to 2018 with a litany of very precise reasons why I will not work with him.
“To be exceedingly clear, I did not have him fired, I did not ask for him to be fired, I did not demand he be fired. Frankly, I fired myself. I proactively removed myself from the band and a situation I considered to be toxic to my well-being. I was done. If the band went on without me, so be it.
“I have championed independence my whole life, and I believe every human being should have the absolute freedom to set their boundaries of what they can and cannot work with. And after many lengthy group discussions, Fleetwood Mac, a band whose legacy is rooted in evolution and change, found a new path forward with two hugely talented new members.
“Further to that, as for a comment on “family”—I was thrilled for Lindsey when he had children, but I wasn’t interested in making those same life choices. Those are my decisions that I get to make for myself. I’m proud of the life choices I’ve made, and it seems a shame for him to pass judgment on anyone who makes a choice to live their life on their own terms, even if it looks differently from what his life choices have been.”
We suspect this one might run and run…
Buckingham will issue his self-titled solo album Lindsey Buckingham on September 17 via Reprise.
