Lennon was 'ashamed of racist Britain'

Beatles legend John Lennon felt "ashamed" of his native UK after wife Yoko Ono endured racist taunts from his fellow Britishers, according to a newly discovered essay by the late musician.

Beatles legend John Lennon felt "ashamed" of his native UK after wife Yoko Ono endured racist taunts from his fellow Britishers, according to a newly discovered essay by the late musician.

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The couple met in London and wed in 1969 before moving to New York City two years later, Contactmusic reported.

Lennon admitted that he struggled to settle with his new partner in his homeland because of the racial abuse aimed at
his Japanese wife.

In a piece penned by Lennon before his death in 1980, he wrote, "Having been brought up in the genteel poverty of a
lower middle-class environment, I should not have been surprised by the outpouring of race-hatred to which we were
subjected in that bastion of democracy, Great Britain.

It was hard for Yoko to understand, having been recognised all her life as one of the most beautiful and
intelligent women in Japan. The racism and sexism were overt.

I was ashamed of Britain."