Yoko Ono Clarified Her Rumored Role in John Lennon's Drug Addiction in Revealing Book Excerpt
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Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s controversial love story has been talked about for decades. After meeting in 1966, they instantly fell in love and married in the summer of 1969. They separated in 1973, to which Lennon continued an affair with a woman named May Pang, but by 1975, Lennon and Ono renewed their vows. They welcomed a son named Sean in 1975, and were together until he was murdered on Dec 1980. While we seem to know so much about the legendary couple, there’s a lot many still have questions about, including the story behind the origins of Lennon’s heroin use.
In an excerpt from the upcoming book entitled All You Need Is Love, obtained by the Sunday Times, it’s reported that during an interview between one of the authors, Peter Brown and Steven Gaines, and Ono, Ono reportedly clarified those rumors about her participation in Lennon’s drug use, specifically with heroin.
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While she denied she “put John on H,” she did teach him how to go about using it. But she reportedly also said that she knew Lennon “wouldn’t take anything unless he wanted to do it.”
She told him about when she “had a sniff” of it in Paris, and “told” Lennon about it. She said she thought he “wanted to take it, that’s why he was asking,’ but she claims they “never injected” the drug.
In the “Get Back” sessions, Ono openly joked about the heroin use. And per Salon, Paul McCartney accused Ono of being the one to get Lennon into heroin, something he and the band disapproved of. McCartney said, “The two of them were on heroin and this was a fairly big shocker for us because we all thought we were far-out boys, but we kind of understood that we’d never get quite that far out.”
For those who don’t know, in 1968, Lennon picked up a heroin addiction after years of trying recreational drugs with his bandmates, and by 1969, he went through a 36-hour detox and then later released the song “Cold Turkey” explaining his addiction.
The song, though, was banned. While discussing the song with BBC Radio 1 DJ Andy Peebles on Dec 6, 1980, via SongFacts, Lennon said: “Cold Turkey was banned. They thought it was a pro-drugs song. But I’ve always expressed what I’ve been feeling or thinking at the time. So I was just writing the experience I’d had of withdrawing from heroin.”
Before you go, click here to see celebrities who have struggled with drug or alcohol addiction.
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