Why New John Lennon Documentary Is Leading to Beatles Fans Finally Forgiving Yoko Ono for 'Breaking Up the Band'

At 92, Yoko Ono is finally finding an unlikely wave of support from Beatles fans who once blamed her for splitting up the band, with many now pointing to her lifelong pain over her abducted daughter as the reason they finally understand – and forgive – her.

OK! can reveal the renewed empathy follows the release of the HBO Max documentary One to One: John & Yoko, which revisits the 1971 abduction of Ono's daughter, Kyoko, now 61, by her former husband Anthony Cox and the decades-long search that consumed Ono and John Lennon over the "lost" girl.

The film, anchored around Lennon's 1972 benefit concert at Madison Square Garden, also reveals the emotional toll Kyoko's absence took on Ono's art, her public persona and – according to newly vocal Beatles fans – her treatment in pop history.

Much of the surge in sympathy stems from viewers who say the documentary reframes Ono's grief.

One longtime Beatles enthusiast said: "I think people underestimated just how much weight Yoko she was carrying. You can now see the pain of a mother who lost her child, and suddenly the jokes about her breaking up the band feel cruel. The revelations about Yoko's pain as a mom has changed the way many fans regard her role in the group's fractious final years."

Another fan added on a forum: "I grew up hearing Yoko ruined The Beatles, but the documentary makes clear she was living through something unimaginable. Her art, her intensity – it all makes sense when you see what was happening behind the scenes. Fans are now right to rally around Yoko and reassess her, as her personal loss puts the old accusations she 'broke up The Beatles' into a totally different light."

Harrowing documentary One to One sheds light on the painful abduction of Ono's daughter by the girl's father and the years the performer and Lennon spent trying to track her down. It reveals how the tumultuous and costly saga haunted Lennon and Ono for decades, chronicling Ono's relentless pursuit to reunite with her daughter, Kyoko, whom her first husband, Cox, abducted in 1971, resulting in a staggering $2 million spent on chasing the little girl down.

In a poignant reflection from a 2003 interview, Ono expressed the deep pain of loss, stating: "Losing my daughter was a very serious pain. There was always some empty space in my heart."

Ono married Cox in the summer of 1963 and welcomed Kyoko into the world just two months later. As she navigated the delicate balance of motherhood and her artistic endeavors, the couple's relationship evolved into a creative partnership.

But by the time Lennon first attended one of Yoko's solo exhibitions in 1966, their marriage was already on the rocks. Just two years later, both Ono and Lennon had separated from their partners and embarked on a romantic relationship. Initially, the parting between Ono and Cox was civil.

But with no formal custody arrangement in place, Cox grew increasingly anxious, insisting on being present during Lennon and Ono's visits with Kyoko. By 1971, he had taken drastic measures, abducting Kyoko and fleeing to Majorca, where he was studying Transcendental Meditation. But when Lennon and Ono traveled there to locate them, Cox accused them of attempting to kidnap Kyoko, resulting in their brief arrest.

Following the confrontation, he relocated to the United States, prompting a bitter custody battle. Despite a court decision granting Ono and Lennon custody on the condition they remain in the U.S., Cox once again fled with Kyoko, effectively severing ties with her mother for 23 years. Living in fear of arrest, Cox adopted false identities while hiding as a member of a little-known religious organization, The Church of the Living Word.

Reflecting on her childhood, Kyoko, now 61, recounted in 2003: "Mom says [now] that she wouldn't have put him in jail, but as a child, I didn't know what was going to happen. I was protective. My dad had a lot of problems, but I was his only kid. It was very painful losing my mom, but I love my dad too."

Ono, heartbroken over Kyoko's absence, sought various means to reach out, including a heartfelt appeal on The Mike Douglas Show in 1972, on which she said: "If Kyoko is watching, I'd like you to know that I love you, and if you miss me at all, you could try to reach me."

Tragically, Lennon never had the opportunity to reunite with Kyoko before his murder in 1980.

Following his killing, Ono received a telegram from Cox and Kyoko, but it offered no contact information, leaving a chapter of sorrow and longing in their lives. It was 1994 before Kyoko, then in her 30s and living as an artist in Colorado, reached out to her mother for the first healing conversation between the pair.

A spokesperson for Ono said in 1997 Kyoko visited "all the time and they have a very nice relationship" with Ono – adding: "They speak every day."