<p id=”par-1_63″>When <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/the-beatles/”>The Beatles</a> broke up, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/john-lennon/”>John Lennon</a>, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, were on decidedly bad terms. They were embroiled in a legal battle and spoke publicly about their gripes with one another. One of Lennon’s biggest problems with his bandmates was how unwelcoming they were to Yoko Ono. While it angered him, he still said he could understand their frustration.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-john-lennon-understood-why-his-beatles-bandmates-were-unhappy-with-him”>John Lennon understood why his Beatles bandmates were unhappy with him</h2>
<p id=”par-2_23″>Lennon and Ono were incredibly close, both emotionally and physically. She joined him in the studio, to the irritation of the other Beatles. </p>
<p id=”par-3_42″>“He just wanted to go off in the corner and look into Yoko’s eyes for hours, saying to each other, ‘It’s going to be all right,’” McCartney said in <em>The Beatles Anthology</em>. “<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartney-found-john-lennon-yoko-onos-relationship-freaky.html/”>It was pretty freaky</a> when we were trying to make a track.”</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” width=”1200″ height=”899″ src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/John-Lennon-Yoko-Ono.jpg?strip=all&quality=89″ alt=”A black and white picture of John Lennon and Yoko Ono sitting on a mattress together. Lennon holds a flower up to his nose.” class=”wp-image-3614195″ srcset=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/John-Lennon-Yoko-Ono.jpg 1200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/John-Lennon-Yoko-Ono.jpg?w=640&h=479 640w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/John-Lennon-Yoko-Ono.jpg?w=768&h=575 768w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/John-Lennon-Yoko-Ono.jpg?w=1024&h=767 1024w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/John-Lennon-Yoko-Ono.jpg?w=467&h=350 467w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/John-Lennon-Yoko-Ono.jpg?w=226&h=169 226w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/John-Lennon-Yoko-Ono.jpg?w=200&h=150 200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/John-Lennon-Yoko-Ono.jpg?w=677&h=507 677w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/John-Lennon-Yoko-Ono.jpg?w=80&h=60 80w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>John Lennon and Yoko Ono | Bettmann/Contributor via Getty</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-4_39″>Lennon defended Ono against his bandmates and made it clear that he would <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/john-lennon-said-interest-beatles-meeting-yoko-ono.html/”>always pick her over them</a>. Still, he understood their frustration. Lennon said that if any of his bandmates behaved as he had, he would have been upset.</p>
<p id=”par-5_85″>“And there were Paul, George, and Ringo saying, ‘What the hell are they doing? What’s happened to him?’” Lennon said. “And my attention completely went off them. Now it wasn’t deliberate, it was just I was so involved and intrigued with what we were doing… And then we’d look round and see that we weren’t being approved. But I understand how they felt, because if it had been Paul or George or Ringo that had fallen in love with somebody and got totally involved ….”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-he-thought-it-was-ridiculous-to-blame-her-for-the-breakup”>He thought it was ridiculous to blame her for the breakup</h2>
<p id=”par-6_39″>Though Lennon understood why his bandmates were unhappy, he also thought it was unfair to blame Ono for The Beatles’ break up. The band had enough problems; their romantic partners didn’t do anything to push them toward a split.</p>
<p id=”par-7_51″>“If it is Yoko and Linda’s fault for breaking up The Beatles, can they have the credit for all the great music that each of us have made individually?” he said. “Linda [McCartney] and Yoko never had an argument ever. How can two women split up four strong men? It’s impossible.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_30″>He believed it came as a shock to his bandmates that Ono was so involved in his life. This didn’t mean she was to blame for their break up, though.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-john-lennon-still-wasn-t-happy-with-the-other-beatles”>John Lennon still wasn’t happy with the other Beatles</h2>
<p id=”par-9_30″>While Lennon could understand his bandmates’ frustrations, he could not condone their behavior. He said he wasn’t initially aware that they were trying to push her out of the studio.</p>
<p id=”par-10_36″>“Paul was always gently coming up to Yoko and saying, ‘Why don’t you keep in the background a bit more?’” he said. “I didn’t know what was going on. It was going on behind my back.”</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-2″><img decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” width=”1200″ height=”920″ src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Beatles-song.jpg?strip=all&quality=89″ alt=”A black and white picture of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr of The Beatles sitting on a couch with tea cups on a table in front of them. Paul McCartney sips from a cup and George Harrison holds a newspaper.” class=”wp-image-3612464″ srcset=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Beatles-song.jpg 1200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Beatles-song.jpg?w=640&h=491 640w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Beatles-song.jpg?w=768&h=589 768w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Beatles-song.jpg?w=1024&h=785 1024w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Beatles-song.jpg?w=457&h=350 457w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Beatles-song.jpg?w=220&h=169 220w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Beatles-song.jpg?w=200&h=153 200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Beatles-song.jpg?w=661&h=507 661w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Beatles-song.jpg?w=260&h=200 260w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Beatles-song.jpg?w=280&h=215 280w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Beatles-song.jpg?w=78&h=60 78w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>The Beatles | Fox Photos/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/john-lennon-said-the-beatles-open-truthful-wanted-compromise.html/”>
John Lennon Said The Beatles Weren’t as ‘Open or Truthful’ as They Wanted to Be: ‘We Had to Compromise’ </a>
</p>
</div>
<p id=”par-11_19″>He said that the way McCartney and Harrison treated Ono infuriated him. He wasn’t sure he <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/john-lennon-said-forgive-george-harrison-paul-mccartney-treatment-yoko-ono.html/”>could forgive them</a> for it.</p>
<p id=”par-12_43″>“I’ll never forgive them, I don’t care what f***in’ s*** about Hare Krishna and God and Paul with his ‘Well, I’ve changed me mind.’ I can’t forgive ’em for that, really,” Lennon told <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lennon-remembers-part-one-186693/” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Rolling Stone</a> in 1971. “Although I can’t help still loving them either.”</p>