Following Fleetwood Mac's performance at the MusiCares Person of the Year in January 2018, Buckingham was fired from the band.
The reason was said to have been a disagreement about the nature of the tour, and in particular the question of whether newer or less well-known material would be included, as Buckingham wanted.

Mick Fleetwood and the band appeared on CBS This Morning on 25 April 2018 and said that Buckingham would not sign off on a tour that the group had been planning for a year and that they had reached a "huge impasse" and "hit a brick wall".
When asked if Buckingham had been fired, he said, "Well, we don't use that word because I think it's ugly."
He also said that "Lindsey has huge amounts of respect [sic] and kudos to what he's done within the ranks of Fleetwood Mac and always will."
In October 2018, Buckingham filed a lawsuit against Fleetwood Mac for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of oral contract and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, among other charges; the lawsuit was settled in December of the same year.

Buckingham stated he learned about the firing after receiving a call from Fleetwood Mac manager Irving Azoff with a message for Buckingham from Stevie Nicks.
Buckingham stated that Azoff told him: "Stevie never wants to be on a stage with you again."
According to Azoff, Nicks had taken issue with, on the evening of MusicCares, the guitarist's outburst just before the band's set over the intro music—the studio recording of Nicks' "Rhiannon"—and the way he "smirked" during Nicks' thank-you speech.
Buckingham conceded that "It wasn't about it being 'Rhiannon'.
It just undermined the impact of our entrance.
That's me being very specific about the right and wrong way to do something."
Days later, Buckingham called Azoff and asked,  "Is Stevie leaving the band, or am I getting kicked out?"
Azoff told him that he was "getting ousted" from the band after Nicks gave the other band members "an ultimatum: Either [Buckingham] go[es] or she's going to go," to which they decided to fire him.
Former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and Neil Finn of Crowded House were named to replace Buckingham.
Buckingham has stated since that he would be open to rejoining Fleetwood Mac but does not foresee it in the future.

In August 2018, Reprise issued a press release for a new solo anthology Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham that focuses on Lindsey's solo career since 1981.
The anthology was released on October 5, 2018 and was followed two days later by a solo tour throughout North America.
In 2020, Lindsey collaborated with the Killers on their studio album Imploding the Mirage, where he was featured as a guitarist on the first single 'Caution'.
Following Fleetwood Mac's performance at the MusiCares Person of the Year in January 2018, Buckingham was fired from the band. The reason was said to have been a disagreement about the nature of the tour, and in particular the question of whether newer or less well-known material would be included, as Buckingham wanted.
Mick Fleetwood and the band appeared on CBS This Morning on 25 April 2018 and said that Buckingham would not sign off on a tour that the group had been planning for a year and that they had reached a "huge impasse" and "hit a brick wall". When asked if Buckingham had been fired, he said, "Well, we don't use that word because I think it's ugly." He also said that "Lindsey has huge amounts of respect [sic] and kudos to what he's done within the ranks of Fleetwood Mac and always will." In October 2018, Buckingham filed a lawsuit against Fleetwood Mac for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of oral contract and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, among other charges; the lawsuit was settled in December of the same year.
Buckingham stated he learned about the firing after receiving a call from Fleetwood Mac manager Irving Azoff with a message for Buckingham from Stevie Nicks. Buckingham stated that Azoff told him: "Stevie never wants to be on a stage with you again." According to Azoff, Nicks had taken issue with, on the evening of MusicCares, the guitarist's outburst just before the band's set over the intro music—the studio recording of Nicks' "Rhiannon"—and the way he "smirked" during Nicks' thank-you speech. Buckingham conceded that "It wasn't about it being 'Rhiannon'. It just undermined the impact of our entrance. That's me being very specific about the right and wrong way to do something." Days later, Buckingham called Azoff and asked,  "Is Stevie leaving the band, or am I getting kicked out?" Azoff told him that he was "getting ousted" from the band after Nicks gave the other band members "an ultimatum: Either [Buckingham] go[es] or she's going to go," to which they decided to fire him. Former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and Neil Finn of Crowded House were named to replace Buckingham. Buckingham has stated since that he would be open to rejoining Fleetwood Mac but does not foresee it in the future.
In August 2018, Reprise issued a press release for a new solo anthology Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham that focuses on Lindsey's solo career since 1981. The anthology was released on October 5, 2018 and was followed two days later by a solo tour throughout North America. In 2020, Lindsey collaborated with the Killers on their studio album Imploding the Mirage, where he was featured as a guitarist on the first single 'Caution'.
Lindsey Buckingham