Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham spoke publicly about his firing from the band for the first time on Friday night. Buckingham, who first joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975, made the comments during a fundraiser for Mike Levin, a California Democrat who is running to represent the state’s 49th Congressional District in the House of Representatives.

During his performance at the event, Buckingham used his platform to draw parallels between the infighting that led to his ousting from Fleetwood Mac and the turmoil that has defined American politics in recent years. As reported by Jeremy Roberts via Medium, Buckingham told those in attendance:

“It’s been an interesting time on a lot of levels. For me, personally, probably some of you know that for the last three months I have sadly taken leave of my band of 43 years, Fleetwood Mac. This was not something that was really my doing or my choice.

“I think what you would say is that there were factions within the band that had lost their perspective [a female fan shouts, ‘F **k Stevie Nicks!,’ prompting Buckingham to raise his hand]. Well, it doesn’t really matter. The point is that they’d lost their perspective. What that did was to harm — and this is the only thing I’m really sad about, the rest of it becomes an opportunity — it harmed the 43-year legacy that we had worked so hard to build [another admirer chimes in, ‘That you built, Lindsey’]. That legacy was really about rising above difficulties in order to fulfill one’s higher truth and one’s higher destiny.

“Now, we also are at a point with our country in Washington where there’s been a loss of perspective. Mr. Dean [John W. Dean, President Richard Nixon’s White House Counsel and Watergate star witness who spoke earlier at the fundraiser] saw it first-hand 45 years ago. I think the difference was that perhaps there were more separations of powers. There was more potential for checks and balances in that loss of perspective. The loss of perspective we see now is indeed threatening to harm the legacy that is the United States.

“In the context of that you’ve gotta think of what needs to be done. It is not gonna come from the top down — it is gonna come from the ground up. This is why we are here. And so, I am most honored and most pleased to have been asked in my own small way to help in that pushback which very, very much needs to happen in order to continue the legacy that we all have come to value. So, thank you for having me.”

As previously reported, Buckingham was dismissed from Fleetwood Mac last month. The American guitarist and singer was replaced by The Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn, who will join Fleetwood Mac on their upcoming 50-date tour. Longtime Fleetwood Mac members Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood both commented on Buckingham’s firing when that tour was announced a few weeks ago.

You can watch a video of Buckingham’s speech at Friday night’s fundraiser below.

Lindsey Buckingham comments on his firing from Fleetwood Mac

[Video: Brian Larsen]

[H/T – Rolling Stone]