The Beatles' Response
On May 11, over a month since his quote was originally printed, Lennon finally apologized. Though he must have been frightened, John handled the interview calmly, as shown in the video on the left.
"The arrival in Chicago was auspicious from John's personal point of view because, that night in the hotel, for the first time perhaps, he personally faced the press....He was taking great responsibility for something he felt terribly bad about and was greatly concerned that this thing, taken completely out of context, should rebound. He did not blame, for instance, Maureen Cleave in the least because of the way he had told it to her. He was concerned that this whole thing could rebound on The Beatles. He was more frightened, really scared stiff, that night, more than at any other time I've seen him, because the whole thing fell on his shoulders." , said Tony Barrow, a publicist who witnessed the event.
In the interview, Lennon explained that what he had meant was that pop culture had a greater influence on teenagers than Jesus. He also said that his statement applied more to England than the USA. He had not meant that he thought that he or any of the Beatles were greater than Jesus. In the interview, Lennon seemed to be sincere in his apology, but still strong in his beliefs.
"The arrival in Chicago was auspicious from John's personal point of view because, that night in the hotel, for the first time perhaps, he personally faced the press....He was taking great responsibility for something he felt terribly bad about and was greatly concerned that this thing, taken completely out of context, should rebound. He did not blame, for instance, Maureen Cleave in the least because of the way he had told it to her. He was concerned that this whole thing could rebound on The Beatles. He was more frightened, really scared stiff, that night, more than at any other time I've seen him, because the whole thing fell on his shoulders." , said Tony Barrow, a publicist who witnessed the event.
In the interview, Lennon explained that what he had meant was that pop culture had a greater influence on teenagers than Jesus. He also said that his statement applied more to England than the USA. He had not meant that he thought that he or any of the Beatles were greater than Jesus. In the interview, Lennon seemed to be sincere in his apology, but still strong in his beliefs.
