Fleetwood Mac have certainly had their fair share of ups-and-downs as a band over the years, some of which culminated in 2018 when former guitarist and Stevie Nicks ex Lindsey Buckingham parted ways with the group. Buckingham claims he didn’t learn about being fired from the band themselves, but instead received the news through his manager. Now, Nicks has spoken out about what exactly transpired three years ago, claiming Buckingham’s account isn’t quite accurate.
Buckingham recently sat down with Rolling Stone for a lengthy interview about his new solo album. During the conversation, Buckingham claimed Fleetwood Mac let him go because he had asked them to delay a tour so that he could release a solo album. To him, Nicks was at fault.
“I think she wanted to shape the band in her own image, a more mellow thing, and if you look at the last tour, I think that’s true,” Buckingham said, going so far as to compare Nicks to Donald Trump. “I think others in the band just felt that they were not empowered enough, individually, for whatever their own reasons, to stand up for what was right,” Buckingham continued. “And so, it became a little bit like Trump and the Republicans.”
But Nicks didn’t let Buckingham’s slight go unanswered. Responding to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment, Nicks called Buckingham’s recollection of events “factually inaccurate”:
“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.”
Read Rolling Stone‘s full interview with Buckingham here.
