A new book claims Yoko Ono was warned that John Lennon was in danger before his murder on Dec. 8, 1980.
We All Shine On: John, Yoko and Me was written by Elliot Mintz, a friend and former spokesperson for the couple. In it, Mintz recalls various conversations with Ono following Lennon’s death.
In an excerpt recently shared with The Times, Mintz implored Ono to agree to a radio interview to combat disinformation regarding her late husband. Ono responded by saying she would check with her “advisors,” various tarot readers and numerologists she trusted.
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“Yoko, let me ask you something,” Mintz replied. “If these advisers are as good as you believe they are, why is it that none of them saw what was going to happen to John? Why was there no warning?”
Ono responded by asserting that she had been alerted to Lennon’s peril.
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“I was told he was in danger in New York and that he should be removed immediately,” she claimed. “That’s why I sent him to Bermuda over the summer. … But I couldn’t keep him away forever. He had to come back at some point.”
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As Mintz was left “speechless” by the revelation, Ono further explained the situation.
“You know how John felt about his own safety,” she noted. “We talked about this at our kitchen table when your friend [the actor Sal Mineo] was killed. John said, ‘If they’re going to get you, they’re going to get you.’ It didn’t matter what my advisers told me. He didn’t believe in bodyguards, he wouldn’t put up with them. He wanted to be free.”
Lennon was killed by obsessed fan Mark David Chapman outside of his New York City apartment. He remains behind bars and has been denied parole since 2000.
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Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
