Stevie Nicks’ «privileged and self centered» Instagram post regarding the Maui wildfires isn’t sitting well with a lot of her fans.
SilverHub/REX/Shutterstock
Over the weekend, the Fleetwood Mac legend shared a lengthy post about her ties to Hawaii and the town of Lahaina, which burned down last week. Her post, though, touched on her Maui vacation home, a local jewelry shop and a ruined vacation. Considering less fortunate families lost everything in the blaze, Stevie’s post wasn’t greeted with much sympathy.
«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,» she wrote. «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.»
Richard Young/Shutterstock
Stevie went on to speak about the challenges of getting ahold of her family with communication networks gone due to the fire.
«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,» Stevie said. «I hope the sweet lady who owned that store was able to grab all her opals and run. I hope she made it out.»
The singer’s home was not affected by the wildfires.
Many of Stevie’s 1.4 million Instagram followers dubbed her tone deaf for speaking about her «huge, beautiful house» in Maui. Critics called her «privileged,» «self centered» and «insensitive.»
«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,» one person wrote.
Another commented, «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.»
A third critic wrote, «‘Lahaina burned to the ground, and to make the situation worse, my niece’s vacation was cut short’ ?????? I read this several times to try and find a way to make it not sound so bad but… it sounds so bad.»
Yet another critic angrily commented, «Stop focusing on your mansion, family vacation and jewelry!»
At least 96 people so far have lost their lives in the fires, making it the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century.