According to Sir Paul McCartney, the conversation between him and Ono took place shortly after John Lennon's murder in December 1980. McCartney recalled receiving a phone call from Ono during the immediate aftermath of Lennon's death. McCartney said his experience of Lennon as a bandmate and close friend never suggested Lennon was gay.
McCartney and Lennon often shared beds while touring in the early days of The Beatles, but McCartney insisted there was never any indication of romantic interest between them. Speculation about Lennon's sexuality has circulated for decades, partly because of his friendship with Beatles manager Brian Epstein, who was openly gay within the band's inner circle. Rumors intensified after Lennon and Epstein took a holiday together in Spain in 1963, sparking widespread gossip in the British press.
McCartney said he personally never believed anything romantic occurred between Lennon and Epstein, suggesting it was a power play and that Lennon may have leaned into the rumors deliberately. The specific evidence or reasons Yoko Ono had for believing John Lennon might have been gay are not known. It is also unknown if Yoko Ono has publicly confirmed or commented on McCartney's account of their conversation.
Lennon married Yoko Ono in March 1969. Lennon was shot and killed outside his New York apartment on December 8, 1980, by obsessed fan Mark David Chapman. Lennon and Ono had one son, Sean Ono Lennon, born in 1975.
Lennon also had an older son, Julian Lennon, from his first marriage to Cynthia Lennon.