Why Is Paul McCartney Now Blaming John Lennon For Breaking Up The Beatles?

More than a half-century since The Beatles broke up, Sir Paul McCartney has openly blamed the iconic band’s demise solely on John Lennon.

What Happened: Although Lennon and bandmates George Harrison and Ringo Starr each focused on solo projects during the band’s life, McCartney used his 1970 debut solo album “McCartney” to insist Lennon-McCartney writing partnership that fueled the Beatles’ rise was over.

But in a new BBC interview, McCartney said the decision to end the Beatles was not his to make.

“I didn't instigate the split – that was our Johnny,” McCartney said. “I am not the person who instigated the split.

“Oh no, no, no. John walked into a room one day and said, ‘I am leaving the Beatles.’ And he said, ‘It’s quite thrilling, it’s rather like a divorce.’ And then we were left to pick up the pieces.”

McCartney speculated the Beatles could have continued if Lennon stayed, but added that Lennon was more interested in starting a new life with Yoko Ono, the Japanese visual artist who became his second wife. Many Beatles fans blamed Ono for breaking up the Beatles, but McCartney didn't cite her as the culprit.

“This was my band, this was my job, this was my life," he lamented. “I wanted it to continue. I thought we were doing some pretty good stuff – ‘Abbey Road,’ ‘Let It Be,’ not bad – and I thought we could continue.”

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Why It's Important: The timing of McCartney’s comments comes roughly one month ahead of the Nov. 25-27 premiere of “The Beatles: Get Back” on Walt Disney Co.’s DIS Disney+ streaming service.

The new production is helmed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson, who culled more than 55 hours of previously unseen footage that was shot in 1969 for “Let It Be,” a documentary directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg that was the last film featuring the band.

“Let It Be” was always a sore spot for the Beatles, with McCartney coming across as a dominating personality who irritated the others. Harrison briefly quit the band during the production, citing frustration over his inability to get his music performed, but that incident wasn't included in the film.

"Let It Be" won the Academy Award and Grammy Award for its score and had a brief VHS and LaserDisc release, but it has never been made available on DVD or Blu-ray. Several media reports blame McCartney for keeping the film out of commercial release.

Previews of “The Beatles: Get Back” show a very different aspect to this period, with the Beatles enjoying each other’s company. The film’s visual quality is also conspicuously brighter, quite unlike the gritty 16mm cinematography of the Lindsay-Hogg film.

Photo: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon performing in the legendary rooftop concert in a scene from "The Beatles: Get Back." Photo via Disney+.