Footage of John Lennon mocking disabled people has been discovered, over 50 years after it was filmed.
According to The Mirror , the video, which was recorded in the early part of the 1960s, emerged this week and was aired on It Was Alright In The 1960s.
In the clip, which you can watch over at Daily Mail, Lennon can clearly be seen making exaggerated faces and gesticulations, which some have deemed to be offensive. The clip was taken from a live performance of The Beatles, and you can see Ringo Starr’s drum kit behind the guitarist.
People soon took to Twitter to respond to the clip, with some people registering their disgust with the musician and others trying to defend him.
#itwasalrightinthe1960s anybody who’s read a bit about The Beatles knows that ‘Saint’ John Lennon had a cruel ‘humour’ about disabled people
— freudian’s lip (@freudians_lip) September 19, 2015
“Disturbing Footage Of John Lennon Mocking Disabled People…” -A different time, EVERYONE makes mistakes | Mirror | http://t.co/ISi7gIas7o
— JaiGuruDeva (@JaiGuruDeva) September 20, 2015
John Lennon mocking the disabled is disturbing to say the least #AlrightInThe60s
— George (@TheRealMcGack) September 19, 2015
Because of the emergence of this footage, further stories regarding John Lennon’s tumultuous past have reappeared too.
During an interview with Playboy back in 1980, via the Mirror, John Lennon admitted that he previously was very cruel to women. However, he insisted that this later provided inspiration for his stance on peace and love.
Lennon explained, “All that, ‘I used to be cruel to my woman, I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved,’ was me. I used to be cruel to my woman, and physically – any woman. I was a hitter. I couldn’t express myself and I hit. I fought men and I hit women.”
He then added, “That is why I am always one about peace, you see. It is the most violent people who go for love and peace. Everything’s the opposite. But I sincerely believe in love and peace. I am not a violent man who has learned not to be violent and regrets his violence. I will have to be a lot older before I can face in public how I treated women as a youngster.”
Just a few short months after he conducted this interview, John Lennon was killed in New York City. He was shot in the back by Mark David Chapman at 10:50 p.m. on 8 December, 1980, outside his apartment.
[Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images]
