Sean Ono Lennon recently took to X to talk about the backlash against his mother, Yoko Ono.
The musician wrote the following:
“My entire life I have witnessed my mother being attacked and maliciously misunderstood. She always told me that to survive she had to take all that negative energy and use it as motivation to make art and continue working. This sort of energetic alchemy could be considered a kind of White Magic. I consider my mother to be a ‘Good Witch of the East.’”
Why Did Yoko Receive Criticism?
It is known that Yoko has been criticized a lot because many thought she contributed to the breakup of The Beatles. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2016, Paul McCartney talked about The Beatles’ final years. He said Ono’s constant presence at recording sessions bothered the band. The rocker stated:
“We were kind of threatened then. She was sitting on the amps while we were recording. Most bands couldn’t handle that. We handled it, but not amazingly well because we were so tight. We weren’t sexist but girls didn’t come to the studio, they tended to leave us to it.”
Paul Further Speaks On The Issue
In an episode of his ‘McCartney: A Life in Lyrics’ series on iHeartPodcasts, McCartney again talked about Yoko’s impact on the band before their breakup. He said:
“John and Yoko had got together and that was bound to have an effect on the dynamics of the group. Things like Yoko being literally in the middle of the recording session [were] something you had to deal with. The idea was that if John wanted this to happen, then it should happen. There’s no reason why not.”
John Lennon’s music also started to change with Yoko’s presence. It became more experimental because of Ono’s influence. This caused tension since the other members wanted to keep The Beatles’ usual style. The media also often showed Yoko as a troublemaker. Many fans believed this and blamed her for the band’s breakup.
You can see Sean’s tweet below.
My entire life I have witnessed my mother being attacked and maliciously misunderstood.
She always told me that to survive she had to take all that negative energy and use it as motivation to make art and continue working. This sort of energetic alchemy could be considered a…
— Seán Ono Lennon (@seanonolennon) June 2, 2024