Stevie Nicks SLAMMED for 'privileged post' about Maui wildfires

Stevie Nicks SLAMMED for ‘privileged and self-centered post’ about Maui wildfires: ‘Stop focusing on your mansion, family vacation and jewelry!’

The Fleetwood Mac musician, 75, sparked fury among fans when she shared a post about the wildfires, discussing her mansion and ruined family vacation
Hawaii’s governor has predicted the remains of hundreds more people could be found during a search operation expected to last around 10 days
Governor Josh Green also said on Sunday that around 1,300 people were still missing after the fires

Stevie Nicks has been slammed for a ‘privileged and self centered’ post about the Maui wildfires – which saw the music icon discuss her mansion and ruined family vacation.

The Fleetwood Mac musician, 75, sparked fury among fans when she shared a post about the wildfires on Sunday which have destroyed centuries-old Lahaina – as the death toll rose to 96 victims.

Captioning the post: ‘Lahaina is not gone ~ It is just away ~ With Aloha, Stevie Nicks, she wrote: ‘As I am sure you have heard – the island, Maui, where I own a house I have been staying at since the 80s – and the small village, city, most magical place on earth, Lahaina, burned to the ground over the last few days

‘And to make the situation worse my young niece, her husband, and their little boy had just arrived for a very needed vacation before she started up her school year (on her way to becoming a psychologist) for 10 days.

‘They had one and a half days of fun and then — the fire started.

Slammed: Stevie Nicks has been slammed for a ‘privileged and self centered’ post about the Maui wildfires – which saw the music icon discuss her mansion and ruined family vacation

Destroyed: The wildfires have destroyed centuries-old Lahaina – as the death toll rose to 96 victims (pictured the hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames on August 8)

‘The power went out at 5.12am (Tuesday morning) but they had no idea why. It was still out at noon, realizing that many houses had also lost power. It was a mystery.

‘My house is 15-20 minutes from Lahaina, but still noone knew about the fire. We knew here in Houston but there was no way to get Jessi (my niece) on the phone.

The entire area of Lahaina and everything around it was down. But here in Houston… we knew.

‘There was no way to know that this amazing town that had survived so much for so long would burn down and disappear into the history books, leaving so much sadness, destruction, and death behind it in its wake.

‘This island, in so many ways, defines Fleetwood Mac and me and our families.”

‘My truth was that I wanted a house here just so I could spend time in Lahaina walking the streets; visiting the art galleries – sitting on the rock wall – Most all the opals I wear on my fingers came from a store on Front Street.

‘I hope the sweet lady who owned that store was able to grab all her opals and run. I hope she made it out.’

‘Over the next two days we managed to get Jessi and her family back to us. They put their little boy (he’s six) in the back seat with an iPad so he would not see the devastation on the drive up past Lahaina to the airport.

The post saw the ‘tone-deaf’ star criticized by fans for waxing lyrical about her ‘mansion, vacation and jewelry’ rather than redirecting followers to donate to the stricken island amid the tragedy

‘But they saw it and Jessi and her husband Alec are devastated Now they are back in LA and seeing the news coverage, they are totally freaked out.

‘They escaped the bullet. My house and surrounding area was not burned. The wind took the fire in a different direction. It was all about the wind. Jessi saod there were three doves the house the whole time. There have never been doves there ever. The end result could have been very different.

‘The Lahaina that we knew~ The Lahaina that in many ways connect Fleetwood Mac and our music to the world, is gone.

‘But my memories of everything that happened to me there is clear as a bell. I will still walk those streets ~ still watch the sunset from the many cool restaurants that we drove in to see every night ~ I will see Mr. Fleetwood’s beautiful new restaurant rebuilt and sparkling in the middle of Front Street,” she said on a hopeful note, adding: “Lahaina is not gone~ It is just away~.”

Some came out in support of the star, saying she had the right to lament her home on the island and lauding her personal post

One fan wrote: ‘Oh Stevie, love you but Native Hawaiians lost their homes for generations to come, your niece, at best, vacation was ruined, this is not what you should’ve posted.’

Another penned: ‘you’re a queen but this is kinda tone deaf, indigenous people lost their livelihoods and your response is “I used to love vacationing here it ruined my nieces vacation.’

Others wrote: ‘Girl… I love you, but those people are going to have to start over what took generations to build. They weren’t on a vacation, and your house didn’t burn down. Also…opals?!

‘They had five minutes to evacuate. A kid was treading water for 7 hrs. A family held onto a log while trying to keep their youngest from floating away. Bodies are still being found.’

‘Girl read the room’ with another writing: ‘Girl you could do that with the money you have… stop playing! Your niece was lucky and that’s great but what about alllll the people who are not?

‘Are you going to give your house up for native Hawaiians to stay in? Because that’s what you should be doing… using your MANY resources to help those wonderful people and places you claim to love so much

‘you could’ve at least pointed to resources to help all those whose homes are lost instead of just focusing on your family’s vacation and your lahaina experience.’

Stevie, I love you, but Native Hawaiian’s have been begging people who are not Indigenous to Hawaii to stop moving there and vacationing there

Another typed: ‘So then…Are you going to help the people that gave you all that you have from their land?’ and ‘really like you Stevie, but this is coming off as so self centered.

The historic town of Lahaina has been devastated. The historic Banyan Tree is burned and scarred but still standing

Flames from a wildfire burn in Kihei, Hawaii Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023

‘As a person with money and influence you could direct people to resources for native Hawaiians’ aid, but instead you focused on your families vacation, which is a huge privilege in the first place, and your mansion and jewelry. You could have mentioned Lahaina’s impact on your life in another way.’

Some came out in support of the star, saying she had the right to lament her home on the island and lauding her personal post.

They wrote: ‘This comment section is giving me the ick. Just because she’s famous doesn’t mean she can’t grieve for her home; it’s not being selfish. Sounds like she was even worried for her niece, which is a normal reaction. Celebrities don’t owe people anything.

Another penned: ‘Stevie is a talented writer as most know. I don’t read this as a self-serving post at all. It’s to acknowledge what has happened and is happening in Lahaina.

‘I interpret it as though the human lives, the beauty, and the land lost in the fire are elsewhere. Away, but certainly not gone. It’s very personal and is written about tragedy, loss, sorrow, remembrance, and consolation.’

Nicks’ bandmate Mick Fleetwood owns a home and a restaurant on the island. The restaurant was destroyed in the fire.

He has chartered a plane to bring supplies to the island

The death toll currently stands at 96, but officials in Maui said on Saturday that teams had been able to cover just 3 percent of the search area. The governor Josh Green added on Sunday that around 1,300 people were still missing.

Many of the remains are so badly burned that families have been invited to provide DNA swabs which could help identify the victims. Authorities have created the Maui County Family Assistance Center to help collect samples.

‘There are more fatalities that will come,’ Green told CBS on Sunday. ‘The fire was so hot that what we find is the tragic finding that you would imagine… It’s hard to recognize anybody. But they’re able to determine if someone did perish.’

Green, a doctor who has been treating survivors, said he’d been into Lahaina twice and ‘there’s nothing to see except full devastation’.

‘The buildings are almost nonexistent. It was so hot that even metal contorted so that you can’t believe what the building was.

‘But that’s what you see, and obviously there will not be any survivors in the area left. They’ve either escaped and escaped that night and now as we put up some temporary cell capacity, people are calling each other. So the number of missing went from in the 2,000s to 1,300.

‘Look, our hearts will break, beyond repair perhaps, if that means that many more dead. None of us think that, but we are prepared for many tragic stories.

‘They will find 10 to 20 people per day probably until they finish. And it’s probably going to take ten days. It’s impossible to guess really.’

Authorities have not published an official missing persons list but a Maui resident, Ellie Erickson, has created an online spreadsheet which currently lists about 1,200 names as ‘not located’.

About 4,000 more names on the spreadsheet are listed as ‘found’.

The blaze that swept into centuries-old Lahaina nearly a week ago destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000, leaving a grid of gray rubble wedged between the blue ocean and lush green slopes.

Destroyed buildings surround the area in the aftermath of the fire in Lahaina on Front Street Thursday in handout photos provided by Hawaii Gov. Green

That fire has been 85 percent contained, according to the county. Another blaze known as the Upcountry fire has been 60 percent contained, officials said.

Green said he was frustrated following reports the Maui’s emergency warning system, including sirens and mobile phone alerts, allegedly did not give residents enough notice that fires were rapidly engulfing Lahaina.

‘We’re heartbroken that people couldn’t get out or didn’t get alerted. We’re doing a review already. My attorney general, I asked her to do it. Not to find fault in anyone but to say why this worked and this didn’t work,’ he said.

‘It is definitely a natural disaster because the winds were moving — any fire between 60 and 80 miles per hour. That’s a mile a minute.’

He said the speed and ferocity of the fires meant ‘moving people out’ had been the best hope of preventing deaths.

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