13. Yoko Ono, the second wife of legendary singer-songwriter John Lennon, was savagely hounded for her alleged role in the breakup of The Beatles in 1970
Yoko Ono (b. 1933) is a Japanese artist, singer, and songwriter who is best known for being the second wife of John Lennon, a singer-songwriter of the celebrated British rock band “The Beatles”. First meeting in November 1966 at Ono’s art exhibition, the pair subsequently began an affair in 1968 which culminated with Lennon divorcing his first wife, Cynthia, and marrying Ono on March 20, 1969.
The Beatles, at the time the most famous band in the world, broke up just a year later, with many blaming Ono as the principal figure responsible; the English press, in particular, was at fault in this regard, branding Ono “the woman who broke up the Beatles”. Despite the protestations of the other band members, with Lennon and Harrison both strongly denying at the time Ono’s involvement and McCartney since stating he does not blame her at all, Ono was vilified and accused of taking advantage of the emotional state of Lennon, who was depressed following the band’s trip to India in mid-1968 and had begun abusing drugs once again.
Whilst it is undeniable that Lennon and Ono’s relationship had a straining effect on the band, including the oft-cited recording of Abbey Road in which after Ono suffered injuries in a car accident Lennon arranged for a bed with a microphone to be installed in the studio to allow his recuperating wife to make comments on the album, many other factors performed equal, if not greater, roles in the breakup of the legendary quartet; among these were the death of manager Brian Epstein in 1967 from a drug overdose, George Harrison’s dissatisfaction with continuing to play a supporting role in the band and desiring greater opportunity for self-expression, and Starr’s dislike of McCartney for allegedly patronizing behavior. Given the breadth of internal issues that have since come to light, with almost every involved party possessing an intense grievance against another, a split was inevitable, with Yoko Ono unfairly ascribed the popular blame due to her public relationship with Lennon and the stark character changes observed in Lennon post-1969.