NEWSPaul McCartney Reveals John Lennon's Widow Yoko Ono Thought the Later Singer 'Might Have Been Gay'
Paul McCartney revealed Yoko Ono questioned John Lennon's sexuality.
March 10 2026, Published 5:10 p.m. ET
Paul McCartney had an odd conversation with John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, not long after he was fatally shot in 1980.
In an interview, the singer revealed, "I swear [Ono] rang me shortly after John died and said, ‘You know, I think John might have been gay.'"
How Did Paul McCartney React to Yoko Ono's Comment?
Paul McCartney claimed that after John Lennon's death, Yoko Ono called him to discuss the late star's sexuality.
"I went, ‘I’m not sure.’ I said, ‘I don’t think so. Certainly not when I knew him’... because we’d been in the '60s. We’d been around with loads and loads of girls," McCartney, 83, recalled to Vanity Fair. "And I bumped into seeing him... a lot of girl action."
The Wings frontman also referred to his own experiences of being in close quarters with his Beatles bandmate, admitting they slept next to each other "very often, but there was never anything."
"There was never a gesture, never an expression. It was nothing," McCartney explained. "So I had no reason to believe this at all."
The music icon's confession came in 2015, though the interview resurfaced recently due to his documentary Man on the Run premiering this past February.
John Lennon Allegedly Cheated on His Wife
An author claimed the musician cheated on his spouse in 1972.
Some of Lennon's rumored hookups with women were well-documented — in fact, in Elliot Mintz's book We All Shine On: John, Yoko, and Me, he claimed Ono, 93, actually witnessed her spouse cheat on her.
The author claimed the couple was at an election results watch party in 1972 when Lennon started drinking heavily and ended up having "loud, raucous s--" with another woman.
"Throughout it all, Yoko sat on the sofa, in stunned, mortified silence, as other guests began awkwardly getting up to leave — until they realized that their coats were in the bedroom where John was having s--," Mintz wrote.
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'It Would Have Severe Consequences'
Paul McCartney said he had 'no reason' to believe John Lennon was gay.
"He was placing [his wife] in the most embarrassing position that you could ever place a woman in — having a romp in the hay in another room with thin walls while your wife was attending a small party and could hear everything," Mintz continued.
Though Ono may not have acted out at the party since she was "a very stoic woman," the author noted, "it would have severe consequences."
Yoko Ono and John Lennon tied the knot in 1969.
The mother-of-two told Mintz that though she should could "forgive" Lennon for the tryst, she wasn't sure if she would "ever forget what happened" or if their relationship would "ever be the same."
The pair first met in 1966 and married three years later.
