JOE HAGAN: Well, part of the story that Iโm writing is that because of the creation of this magazine [Rolling Stone], a lot of power accrued to him [Jann Wenner]. And the way he wielded the power is meaningfulโwhy he would do certain things and whatโs behind it. Sometimes itโs just caprice. Sometimes heโs a genuine partisan. Heโs like, โYoko is my friend, and Iโm going to collaborate with her to make John a mythic character.โ They became friends right after he died, and it was very instant.
PAUL McCARTNEY: And you see, there are all sorts of weird things that I talk to my private circle about. In talking to you about them, we do have to remember Yoko is still alive.
JOE HAGAN: Yes, I interviewed her. Sheโs pretty kooky.
PAUL McCARTNEY: Sheโs an artist. Sheโs kooky. But John loved her, and thatโs the bottom line. You really canโt go beyond that, no matter what you might think. Not my type, but I swear she rang me shortly after John died and said, โYou know, I think John might have been gay.โ
I went, โIโm not sure.โ I said, โI donโt think so. Certainly not when I knew him.โ [Ono made a similar claim to Jann Wenner, as reported in Sticky Fingers. She made the claim again in 2015, the year of our interview.] Because weโd been in the โ60s. Weโd been around with loads and loads of girls. And I bumped into seeing him jackingโฆa lot of girl action. And Iโd slept with John very often, but there was never anything. There was never a gesture, never an expression. It was nothing. So I had no reason to believe this at all.
But there were rumors because Brian EpsteinโJohn went with Brian [to Spain in 1963]. But I saw that as a power play, which was very John. Brian would ask him as a homosexual thingโa good-looking boy who Brian fancied. They went down to Spain, had a fun time. No doubt John would play into the thing. I personally didnโt think anything had happened. Certainly never heard about anything happening. But I saw it as: โYou want to deal with the Beatles? Iโm the leader.โ
John was very political. John, remember, had read the complete works of Winston Churchill. They had them at his house. He was a big Churchill fan. In fact, heโs named John Winston Lennon. So John was very political that way. He wouldnโt voice it, but he would play it.
So anyway, thatโs what I say about Yoko being sort of kooky. And I actually said that to a friend of mine, Robert Fraser, who was gay, and he got very annoyed. โWhy would anyone say that? Maybe a year after heโs dead, maybe. But people say crazy things.โ
JOE HAGAN: Maybe she was just under emotional duress.
PAUL McCARTNEY: I know. When I lost Linda, I said some pretty crazy things. I look back on them now and go, โThatโs grief. Thatโs just what you do.โ Youโre dealing with it.
JOE HAGAN: And the irony is her next boyfriend was a gay man, Sam Havadtoy.
PAUL McCARTNEY: Yeah. And then we had to deal with Sam. Everything we wantedโIโd nearly have Yoko agreeing to something, then Sam would get hold of it, the decision would be reversed.
Paul McCartney in a March 2015 conversation with Joe Hagan for his book Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine (2017), first published in Vanity Fair in February 2026. Source: x