George Harrison Said the Media Caused Panic, Writing That His Wife, Olivia, Got Lost in an Earthquake in Romania
George Harrison didn’t appreciate it when the media spun a story that his wife, Olivia, got lost in an earthquake in Romania. After years of dealing with the rubbish the press wrote, George was sick of it.
George Harrison called the media ‘dummies’
From the beginning of his career as a Beatle, the press couldn’t figure George out. They viewed him as an enigma because he wasn’t like the rest of the group. He thought before he spoke and was always direct during interviews. George didn’t say anything if he didn’t want to, and for that, the media labeled him as the “quiet Beatle.”
That label only made George hate the media more. They misinterpreted him and disrespected his privacy. Their invasion of his privacy didn’t stop once The Beatles split up. They claimed he was a hermit and gave him another wrong label: Howard Hughes 2.0.
According to NBC, George once said, “The press are such dummies, generally speaking… There are some great writers that do a useful job. But the whole thing is to sell a paper with some stupid headline. My image comes across like I’m some weird old mystical ex-Beatle.”
George didn’t like that the media made up stories about his wife
During an interview with Sunday Sunday in 1990, a reporter said he’d had a bad scare earlier in the year when it was reported that his wife, Olivia, had gone missing during an earthquake in Romania. George said it was just a story that the media made up.
“She wasn’t really,” George said. “I mean, one of the things I’ve learned to deal with is the newspapers. The media tend to-you know, they want stories. So, they hear she’s in Romania, there’s an earthquake, so immediately, they’ve gotta print she’s lost in an earthquake in Romania.
“But it wasn’t actually true. She was there, and they were driving back to Bucharest Airport when this earthquake happened, but she just carried on, got on the plane, and came home. In the meantime, they’ve got this big panic saying that I’m going crazy. Well, I was on a flight back from Los Angeles at the time. So, I just paid no attention, and she said, ‘I’ll be back at 11 o’clock.’ And she was back at 11 o’clock [Laughs].
“I saw it in the papers, I saw it on breakfast television. You know, ‘Beatle Wife Lost In Earthquake.’ It’s crazy.”
George had to deal with the press’ fabricated stories into his last months
Unfortunately, George had to deal with fabricated reports from the media up until his last few months.
In May 2001, George Harrison underwent surgery for lung cancer. He released a statement saying it was successful and he was recovering well. Two months later, doctors treated him for a brain tumor at a clinic in Switzerland. Still, George and Olivia were hopeful of the ex-Beatle’s full recovery.
However, the Mail on Sunday fabricated a report claiming George was dying. They used a fake quote from The Beatles’ producer, George Martin, which said George had little time to live.
The quote from Martin (per Wired) read: “He is taking it easy and hoping that the thing will go away. He has an indomitable spirit but he knows that he is going to die soon and he is accepting that.”
“George is very philosophical. He does realize that everybody has got to die some time,” the fabricated quote from Martin continued. “He has been near death many times and he’s been rescued many times as well. But he knows he is going to die soon and he’s accepting it perfectly happily.”
George had gone through enough already. He was treated for throat cancer in 1998 and nearly died in a home invasion in 1999. Then came his treatment for lung and brain cancer. However, seeing reports with fake quotes “disappointed and disgusted” him. He released a statement that said he was “active and feeling very well” and that Martin had told them he’d not given an interview about George’s health.
“The reports were unsubstantiated, untrue, insensitive and uncalled for, especially as Mr. Harrison is active and feeling very well in spite of the health challenges he has had this year,” the statement said (per CBS News).
Unfortunately, the Mail on Sunday’s false reports became a reality shortly after. It became clear that George was losing his battle with cancer, but the press didn’t back away.
George’s friend, Tom Petty, said, “I’ll tell you, the media wasn’t very sweet in the last year of his life. He was probably the most hounded of his whole life when he was trying to deal with that. Especially in Europe, he never got a moment’s peace. He would have helicopters follow him when he left the house. I guess that comes with the territory. That’s part of the price you pay. He paid that price so many times — well, overpaid.”
George died in November. After going through all that he went through in his last months, George didn’t deserve the media’s prying.
