Yoko Ono Gave Julian Lennon the ‘Rudest Shock’ After John Lennon Died

Immediately after his father’s death, Julian Lennon traveled to New York to be with Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon. While he was not particularly close with Ono, he felt New York was the best place for him to be in the aftermath. According to Cynthia Lennon, an offer Ono made Julian came as a terrible shock to him.

Yoko Ono shocked Julian Lennon with an offer after John Lennon’s death

When Julian arrived in New York, he helped Ono break the news of Lennon’s death to Sean Lennon. The following day, Ono showed him Lennon’s ashes. 

“The morning after Sean was told, Julian was asked to go to Yoko’s room,” Cynthia wrote in her book John. “‘Would you like to touch it?’ she said, indicating an urn that stood over the fireplace. Julian stopped in his tracks and stared in horror. Almost on autopilot, he did as he was told. It was still warm.”

While Cynthia believed Ono had good intentions, she shocked Julian to his core.

“No doubt Yoko meant well — perhaps she thought it would help Julian say goodbye or feel connected to his father — but for Julian it came as the rudest shock to realize that the urn contained his father’s ashes,” Cynthia wrote. “It was just over forty-eight hours since John had died and although Julian had known there would be no funeral — Yoko had made a public statement to this effect — he wasn’t ready to be presented with a jar and told it contained the remains of his father. The shock stayed with him for a long time afterward.”

Yoko Ono brought Julian Lennon away from the chaos of the city

While Julian found this moment unpleasant, some of Ono’s other decisions benefited him. She thought, for example, that Julian should have a friend to support him. 

“However, Yoko also suggested he might like a friend to keep him company, an offer he accepted gratefully; he asked for Justin,” Cynthia wrote. “The whole thing was arranged speedily and Justin was soon in New York.”

She also realized that the crowds surrounding the apartment building at all hours were keeping Julian isolated. She decided to bring the boys out of the city to spend time at her home on Long Island. They stayed there during the silent vigil for Lennon.

Cynthia Lennon was not happy with her 

Though Cynthia appreciated some of what Ono did for Julian, she also felt the other woman behaved insensitively at times. In a statement she wrote to the public, Ono did not mention Julian’s presence in New York or his loss.

“This statement, published in newspapers around the world, summed up so much of what Julian had to go through,” Cynthia wrote. “There was no mention of his being there with Yoko when she told Sean. Yoko even quoted Julian’s words as her own. There was no mention that John’s older son had also lost a father. And Julian’s name was not added to the signature. The insensitivity of this took my breath away.”

Cynthia thought it was terrible that Julian had to deal with this exclusion while he mourned his father’s death.