[There was a video here]

Stevie Nicks appeared in a series of Dutch angles on last night's episode of American Horror Story: Coven. Exhibiting a considerable sense of humor about herself, he played a slightly altered version of herself, a singer/songwriter/icon who just happens to be a white witch.

There have been rumors of Nicks' witchery for decades, and she has always emphatically denied them. In a 1998 Yahoo! chat, she supposedly said, "I am not a witch. Get a life!" This vintage footage of her denying the rumors is excellent:

Nicks appeared on the show as a sort of reward to Lily Rabe's Misty Day character, who recently joined the show's central coven after hanging out in the backwoods of Louisiana, raising people from the dead and obsessively listening to cassettes of Nicks. Since she showed up at the witch boarding school where the coven lives, some witches have suspected that Misty will be their next leader (or "supreme"). When you're a supreme you get perks, like meeting Stevie Nicks and having her serenade you with "Rhiannon" solo-piano style. (Nicks has said the song is about a "Welsh witch.") The coven's current supreme, Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange) coordinated Nicks' visit, referring to the rock goddess as an "old friend." Twirling and shaw-gifting ensued.

On her AHS appearance, Nicks told the L.A. Times:

I wouldn't have done this 30 years ago. In the beginning of my career, the whole idea that some wacky, creepy people were writing, "You're a witch, you're a witch!" was so arresting. And there I am like, "No, I'm not! I just wear black because it makes me look thinner you idiots." I stopped wearing black for like a year. Then I was just like, "OK, just bring it freaks. I'm not going to wear apricot. You think whatever you want because I'm going to wear my beautiful, long black dress. Get out of my face." I got mad. I went back to black. So when all this came along, I was like, "what, really, am I going to turn this down because of all that past nonsense?" I'm way too old and I've been through way too much to give up an opportunity like this. I'm fearless. You have to be fearless in life, Yvonne. I'm not afraid of anything. Don't you ever be afraid of anything.

(Yvonne Villarreal conducted the interview, although I think "You have to be fearless in life, Yvonne," is a terrific thing to say even if you aren't talking to a Yvonne.)

At the end of the episode, Nicks reappeared to sing "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You," this time just for Fiona, who is having a hard time letting go of her supremedom.

[There was a video here]