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  "path": "/news/culture/was-john-lennon-gay",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-02T21:40:42.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.advocate.com",
  "tags": [
    "Paul mccartney",
    "Pop culture",
    "Pop music",
    "The beatles",
    "Yoko",
    "_released in full_",
    "_**LGBTQ**_",
    "_**Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.**_",
    "interview",
    "Yoko Ono: John Lennon 'Had a Desire' for Men",
    "Did John Lennon Have a Gay Affair",
    "killed",
    "John Lennon pal recalls outing Brian Epstein",
    "Book proposal says John Lennon had an affair with Stuart Sutcliffe (1229)",
    "proposal",
    "___Morrison Media Group___"
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  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nShortly after John Lennon’s death, his wife, Yoko Ono, told bandmate Paul McCartney that she suspected her husband might have been gay. McCartney told _Vanity Fair_ in a 2015 interview _released in full_ on Friday, coinciding with the premiere of _Man on the Run_ , a new documentary about his life after The Beatles. McCartney discussed the “rumors” around his bandmate’s sexuality, plus other hot-button topics about their time as The Beatles, in an interview with Joe Hagan.\n\n**Keep up with the latest in** _**LGBTQ**_**+ news and politics.**_**Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.**_\n\n“I’d slept with John very often, but there was never anything,\" McCarthy said. He explained that Ono once expressed concerns about whether Lennon may be gay. \"She rang me shortly after John died and said, 'You know, I think John might have been gay,'\" McCartney said of Ono’s call. Ono made a similar claim in a 2015 interview with the _Daily Beast._\n\n**Related** : Yoko Ono: John Lennon 'Had a Desire' for Men \n\n**Related** : Did John Lennon Have a Gay Affair\n\nLennon was killed outside his New York City apartment in December 1980. McCartney said he doubted Ono’s account and believed it may have been an expression of grief rather than a statement of fact. He acknowledged, however, that questions about Lennon’s sexuality had circulated before, centered largely on Lennon’s relationship with the band’s manager, Brian Epstein, who was gay.\n\nMcCartney recalled a 1963 trip Epstein and Lennon took together to Spain. \"Brian would ask him [on vacation] as a homosexual thing. A good-looking boy, who Brian fancied,\" McCartney said. “They went down to Spain, had a fun time. No doubt John would play into anything. I personally didn't think anything had happened. Certainly never heard about anything happening.\"\n\nFrom left, Yoko Ono, John Lennon and Paul McCartney attend a film opening in London in 1968.Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images\n\nMcCartney said that during their years together in the 1960s, he and Lennon spent time with many women, and that nothing in Lennon’s behavior ever raised questions in his mind. \"There was never anything,\" McCartney said. \"There was never a gesture. Never an expression. It was nothing. So I had no reason to believe this at all.\"\n\n**Related** : John Lennon pal recalls outing Brian Epstein\n\n**Related** : Book proposal says John Lennon had an affair with Stuart Sutcliffe (1229)\n\nSpeculation about Lennon’s sexuality has surfaced periodically for decades. In 2001, _The Advocate_ reported on a book proposal by Pauline Sutcliffe, sister of early Beatles bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, that claimed Lennon and Sutcliffe had a sexual relationship. The assertion was never substantiated and was widely disputed.\n\nThe _Vanity Fair_ interview was conducted by Hagan for his biography of _Rolling Stone_ founder Jann Wenner, _Sticky Fingers_.\n\n__This article was written as part of the Future of Queer Media fellowship program at The Advocate, which is underwritten by a generous gift from__ ___Morrison Media Group___ __. The program helps support the next generation of LGBTQ+ journalists.__",
  "title": "Was John Lennon gay? Paul McCartney discussed bandmate’s sexuality rumors in unearthed interview"
}