I used to think Paul's reaction was wrong. But after losing both my parents from 2018 to 2021 this was my exact reaction. It takes awhile to process it.

Paul later admitted that he didn't come across well in those comments, but later when it sunk in he broke down crying. People don't all process shock and grief the same.

"I went back to sleep and he was still Dead in the morning" Is such a... Profound way of handling trauma.

The way Paul reacted to his death is so similar to the way I’ve reacted to death in my family as well. It’s just a numbing feeling and there’s no proper way to describe how you feel when someone asks about it. Like he said “it’s a drag.” and it really is, you can’t do much about it.

Paul was clearly in shock. When someone dies it doesn't always sink in & the last thing you want is press hounding you. Not everyone reacts the same way. When my Dad died I laughed silently at his funeral as I literally couldn't cry, it just wouldn't come out in any other way it was the strangest feeling I ever had to laugh while being grief stricken. John obviously didn't want a funeral. George's way of thinking is amazing & Ringo has always been more the emotional one. You don't have to be a crumbling mess ,crying all the time to be devistated by someone's death.

When I saw Paul live back in 2002, it was the first tour since George died, and Paul played something for him on stage and got emotional. When I saw Ringo just 4 months ago, he choked up on stage when the band played give peace a chance. I know those guys love eachother

Ringo was being as strong as he possibly could in his interview. The hurt and sadness in his eyes is heartbreaking.

The video of Paul listening to Beautiful Boy when he’s trying his best to hold back tears is heartbreaking and raw. We all handle death and tragedy differently and I can’t imagine how I’d feel trying to answer reporters questions when I’d just learned my best friend and band mate had been murdered.

Paul's "It's a drag" comment is actually a nod to John. That was an inside joke between Paul and John that they used to say to each other as a cynical teenagers when something bad happened to someone else.

Ringo is such a lovely guy.. So sweet and tender . I see the emotion in his eyes , how much he was holding back the tears . I'm so happy he still lives.

My music teacher, who we believed to be an absolute hater of any music other than classical, was crying in front of our class that morning, talking about John Lennon.

They were in shock. Paul was beyond words. No one handles death the same. I am dealing with many deaths of people I knew and looked up to. John's death altered my life.

It's crazy to think that he's been gone now for longer than he was around. Time flies.

I always feel so bad for Paul with that interview. His best friend was brutally murdered, he was in a state of shock, and then the press got in his face. Usually, he's a very chatty interviewee and knows how to take control of the interview, but here he was giving the briefest possible answers. And then EVERYONE vilified him for that "it's a drag" comment. Honestly, if he was able to say something more eloquent, that would probably be more indicative of antipathy since it would show that he's composed enough to make an official statement. But here, he can barely put anything into words. He got so much shit for not being able to compose a eulogy on demand. I'm glad you put the "Beautiful Boy" bit in there to show how hurt he truly was.

The violent way he died after writing “Imagine” is unimaginable. Miss you John Lennon

You could feel the pain coming out of Paul at the end. When beautiful boy was playing he was trying so hard not to cry, so I cried for him. R.I. P John I wish you knew the world still loves you ❤

George's vision of death is something I find really fascinating, he thinks that life is all material, it's all maja. He potrays that in his songs too, like in Beware Of Darkness or All Things Must Pass. "Sunrise doesn't last all morning" "Sunset doesn't last all evening" He believes that his friend is still with him, just not physically. "A mind can blow those clouds away"

They each had such a different reaction to it. George believed his spirit was still there with him which I found the most fascinating. Ringo was so upset he even asked the lady if he could stop (Which she really should have) and I know he probably took it the worst. But Paul. The reaction was so raw, you could tell how traumatized he truly was. Rest in peace John.

Poor Ringo. I feel so bad for him. He was as influential to the group as Lennon or McCartney.. Sheesh..

43 years without John Lennon💔😭 10/9/1940 - 12/8/1980

Paul would still not be registering what had happened, still processing it. It would have been an extremely traumatic event for him.

Honestly, poor Paul. He lost not only his best friend, but his wife as well in the span of a few years. Now he's 80, and Ringo just celebrated his 82nd birthday a few days ago. It's unbelievable to imagine outliving your friend for that long. Ok, I am gonna make an edit because if you counted the number of times people have said "uM acTuaLly, iT'S nOT a fEw YEaRs, iT's 18 🤓" You would be counting forever I swear to God shut up. Ok, A. It's not a few, but 18 years is a short time compared to the entire 80 years you have been alive, and even if it hasn't been a few years, it's still very tragic to lose your best friend AND your wife regardless. And B. Yes, I made a mistake, I DON'T NEED A TON OF PEOPLE TELLING ME THE EXACT SAME THING! YOU'RE NOT TELLING ME ANYTHING NEW.

My parents were married that day, December 8th, and they always said they felt it was a poor omen that they shared that date with him. They were married for 28 years before my father was killed in an accident. They loved each other very much, though, and I always think about how in those 28 years that they were married, John's legacy only continued to grow. They raised three children who incidentally adored The Beatles' and John's music long after his life had ended. The pieces we leave behind of ourselves are the pieces that those who loved us will carry after our time has come.

Ringo had the most sincere reaction to his old friend dying

So terribly sad, recently saw Paul Mccartney in concert. John was up on the big screen and Paul was singing along and it felt like John was there. Definitely brought a tear and sounded so great! Such a great concert, one of the most memorable shows I've been to.

RIP the two members of The Beatles John Lennon (October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980), aged 40 George Harrison (February 25, 1943 - November 29, 2001), aged 58 You both will be remembered as legends.

I sing Beautiful Boy to my son all the time. The lyric "I can hardly wait, to see you come of age" is always moving to me, as Sean was only five when John died.

Paul's immediate reaction footage doesn't really depict him badly. It mostly shows how heartless People journalists are sometimes.

I've seen Ringo's interview before, he looks so pained. So sad.

My parents came home from Christmas shopping and me and my sister were preparing Lunch . We turned on the news and heard that John Lennon had been shot. That night I think I watched every thing about John Lennon and The Beatles that BBC had to show. I was 10 and although it was tragic news, it was when I became very interested in The Beatles and wanted to know everything about their music. That day is still a profund memory that shaped my life. That is why I’m a musician and teach the Guitar for a living. Thank you Beatles 💜

57 and it still hurts me.....I have been unable to listen to his solo work ever since.....cant make it through a single one without choking up. I couldn't sleep the night it happened so i put on my headphones and tuned in my radio...it was almost one thirty and when i heard every station playing the beatles i was sure they had announced a reunion.......then i heard the news...i was devastated......utterly and completely.....i ran down the hall and woke my brother with the news.....he instantly started crying....we were beatles maniacs.... i reiterate,,,,,im 57 and it still hurts me

Any time I'm grieving I'm going to come back to George's comments. That was beautiful. ❤

42 years later and John’s senseless killing remains to be the most painful moment in music history. I would have cried rivers if I were any of the remaining Beatles.

It's obvious to a normal human being that Paul was in shock. Complete and utter shock. Look how we all felt. My mother said she was very depressed for over a week. She finally realized how much John's death affected her. Can you imagine how Paul felt? Probably like part of his heart and soul was ripped from his mortal body. When we went and watched Get Back in the theater, I'd say 80% of the audience ( my wife and included) just started to sob. There was no controlling it, nor did we feel we had to. It was a beautiful shared moment amongst us old Beatles fans.

I admire and revere them and there are not many people who don't. But the person i really feel for is Yoko. I choke a bit when i hear her reminiscence of the past. Lennon was a magnificent man, talented beyond the norm, soulful in the way he put out those lyrics and interpreted them - best of all cutting edged in his appraisal of people and events. There's a bit of John in all of us maybe this why we love him so much and can't let him go.

I remember the day, I heard the news. Deep sense of losing an entire era in one moment, and it was indeed the loss of an era. Miss you John

You can’t compare comments in an arranged interview years, even decades, later to comments made when someone shoves a microphone in your face a few hours after it happened. The latter is what happened to McCartney in the first one. Anyone who criticizes McCartney or suggests he wasn’t deeply affected by Lennon’s death has never suffered loss.

I heard about John being killed, from the radio, on the freeway. I violently pulled over. The DJ said, 'Tonight a wacko emptied a gun into John Lennon' that word emptied got to me I went into shock

“It’s a drag, isn’t it?” will forever live on.

So sad. I am glad that you ended with the second clip of Paul. He had all his defences up in the first clip, the second was very tender.

I spoke with Ringo on the phone in 1981, and I asked him (among other things) if the remaining Beatles had taken serious precautions to insure their protection in the wake of John’s assassination. He replied that, at first, they had bodyguards and took security measures for not only themselves, but their families as well. But after awhile, he commented, they eased up and didn’t feel they needed that degree of protection. (On a side note, George would later be attacked at his home by a knife-wielding assailant.)

Wow. Imagine grieving the loss of a friend and people asking you all these questions and filming and taking pictures. (Paul)

George's reaction resonated most with me. My perspective is that when people die, they're never really gone. In our current state we can't see them anymore, but when we die, we'll see them again because then we'll be on the same plane, level, dimension, state of existence, whatever you want to call it. Under normal circumstances, we all have a duration in life and when it's finished, it's done and we're moved on to the next phase. You see it when people die naturally in old age and you look back/reflect on their life. Quite often, you see that they had their timespan with a definitive start, the things they did, impact they had on other people's lives and the world around them, and then everything gets tied up naturally and then the body breaks down and they pass away. Sometimes, if you think about events and changes that occurred after their death, it's quite easy to see how they would have struggled and/or would have hated it. It's kind of difficult to explain but there really is a tine and place for everything. Similarly, when we meet someone we love or conceive a child, there are so many variables that - had one or two been different - an entirely different chain of events could have unfolded.

Loved George 's reaction and explanation of how things really work.

Paul handled that very well in that first clip. He didn't bite when they pried, he didn't elaborate for personal gain, he just processed it and answered the questions and when he could tell it wasn't going to go anywhere else he called for a cheers and called it a day. So many people nowadays want to make it about them. It wasn't about Paul, it was about John. Not the Beatles, not about the current politics, it was about John getting killed and he had the tact to know that.

What a great loss. It seems like it was just yesterday we lost John and, at the same time, an eternity. Condolences to all his family, friends and all those that miss and love him.

This was the darkest day I can remember involving the death of a celebrated person. I know I could hardly function myself. I was 21 at the time. John's death marked the end of childhood/adolescence for me and many others.

This is my favorite John Lennon song. I would sing it to my son when he was a baby. Every so often I’ll forward the song to him to let him know I’m thinking of him. He turns 40 in a few months! After John was shot the song makes me cry because I would think of him singing this to his own son Sean, and now he’s gone. RIP John 🥰🇺🇸

He was mocking the interviewer he wasn't saying John's death was a drag. Why don't people get that? He was mocking the interviewer for trying to pry stuff out of him then not being happy about not getting much from paul. Plus he was also gobsmacked and wasn't prepared to have to deal with media after his best friend was killed. No one can be ready for that.

George sees reality as it is. I always loved his spiritual songs and listening to the rare clips showcasing his wisdom.

I visited the Dakota one week later. My sister and I had planned a trip to NYC for weeks. I was 14 and Double Fantasy was all over the radio. People were happy to hear Lennon's music on FM radio. The huge crowd outside the Dakota was united in sorrow and wailing, performing and singing his songs but mostly screaming and crying. No doubt, Lennon could hear such cries from high above.

You know, for all the memes about Yoko’s singing it was very welcomed and refreshing to hear her speak for herself. She definitely has an eloquence to her.

I have to say that John’s death was one of the saddest days of my life! I was 6 years old when he was assassinated! My mother told me the news, and my heart was pulverized! He was my musical, humanitarian, and spiritual hero! He still is now, at my age of 47, and he will always be!

George- what a beautiful soul

It must have been such a surreal time for his loved ones. When someone passes so suddenly it almost doesn’t feel real and then one day it hits you and the pain of their loss is there forever. Ringo’s interview showed such a gentle and deep side of him. I lost my best friend tragically, it felt like I had been hit upside the head and my whole world was altered.

I was very young when it happened (I didn’t fully understand what had happened) and my parents and I were going somewhere in the car. I remember the news came on the radio and my mom was shocked. My mom is a big Beatles fan and she would play all of her Beatles albums for me when I was little which made me become a fan.

When you lose someone close to you and the shock wears off, you still deal with it the rest of your life.

The Beatles NEVER forgot who they were, or where they came from. They were 5, then 4 working class fellas who wanted to make music. They made the most surreal music this planet has ever heard, or ever likely to hear again. I often wonder if John had lived, could he have handled the way the world is now? Whether it would have worn him down until he faded? He should have had that choice. John was killed when his spirit was at its strongest, he was free, and he still remains as such. Nothing ever dies.

I love George's perspective!

Ringo was the only one that really showed emotion. It's tough to be a man sometimes and let that show. He showed his colors. Great guy.

What they felt for each other was their own business, not ours.

I was 15 when it happened..I was watching the 11 I 'clock news with my mom, in my home I grew up in, Deer Park NY. It was as though a floor dropped out from under my feet. It was surreal. Rip John.

John was such an incredible talent. His poor kids losing their father like that.

I honestly love Yoko Ono’s views on it. Her comment talking about the last version of John she knew is really touching to me

Paul’s real reaction was the song "Here Today", the video you put is his reaction after being harassed by the press asking him about the death of his best friend

When Ringo started to talk, I couldn't hold my tears. Such a big loss! We ❤️ u John...

I was 12 when this happened the Beatles were and still are my favorite band i remember where I was when I heard the news and it just seemed so unbelievable rip John and George

3:18 poor Ringo. So drunk, so sad, his whole face gives us a window into what it must’ve felt like. He’d lost another close friend Keith Moon so recently, too. He must’ve wondered what the fuck was next

The pain in ringo’s eyes. :(

I agree with the other posts here - Paul had to be in shock - still trying to process what happened. And then he has all these microphones in his face - he’s human - no way he should be expected to give a composed and thoughtful statement then.

That’s very understandable and kinda morbidly relatable, the thing George says about just going back to sleep after getting the horrible news. If you’ve never gotten news like that it might seem callous or like he just didn’t care, but in reality it was exactly what he said. It’s your brain just trying to reject the information, and you just go back to sleep to avoid the reality of it. The sad thing with that is I’m sure when he woke up again there was a fraction of a second where he thought it was just a dream, or he forgot about the news he initially woke up to. But then that realization sank in that it was real and that’s just the worst feeling ever I can’t imagine their pain

paul being sad is possibly one of the most heart breaking things anyone could ever see.

Imagine the day you found out your best friend died, pretty much family to you, and you have reporters asking you such absurd questions.

I’ll always remember what I heard that night. I was in Dallas for a business meeting and had been in a crowded in-house bar watching Monday Night Football with the others. I decided to go up to my room and hit the bed. After a shave and a shower I climbed into bed and turned on a clock radio that was sitting on a nightstand next to the bed. At the time, Larry King had a nighttime radio talk show and I tuned into that. The very first words I heard him say were “And now for some unbelievably terrible news.” I got very little sleep that night.

You never die when you're such a legend. His legacy and music made him eternal. ❤

My cousin was in the same class as George in junior school, he said he was a really quiet lad, who at at the back.

The beginning of the sixties was magic: the music, the culture, the color of everything, the optimism. The beginning of the eighties however...

Its amazing how much george's view on eternal souls negates all fear of death and grief of loss❤ amazing really

I wasn’t even born when he was murdered and yet it makes me unbelievably sad. I adore the Beatles‘ music 🎼❤🎼

Ringo asks for the reporter to stop and she's just like "no."

"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside of us while we live." - Norman Cousins

Sudden or slow, when death comes its never what one expects.

The guy was trying his hardest not to break apart in front of everyone, when he said “ it’s a drag isn’t it?”, he was basically telling the reporter to get lost

For all of those judging Paul's reaction to the press. You are basing how you think he felt by a 10 second news clip. Did he only find out right then and there so that is his first reaction? How would you feel if you were upset all day but then have people you don't know throwing microphones in your face expecting you to fall to the ground sobbing for the camera, when you just wanted to get home to grieve? Linda said she came home that morning to find Paul in the doorway crying. His brother said Paul could barely talk on the phone when he called. Denny Lane was in the studio with him and other friends that day and said they talked about John all day with Paul holding back tears. Should they have taken cameras into his home that morning to get his reaction when he first woke up to hear the news?

Well said George... Nobody 'really' dies. It's just a body condition. The human suit remains here, but the spirit breaks free and never dies! God bless everyone.

Don’t know how anybody can claim that Paul was cold and unmoved in the face of John’s demise. He is blatantly in shock. Hasn’t had chance to process properly. People who don’t get the “it’s a drag” comment aren’t understanding the British method of dealing with the immediate aftermath of devastating tragedy, grief or trauma. Additionally, shame on Barbara Walters for the “no” when Ringo requests to stop filming due to how upset he feels.

John Lennon will always be missed such a wonderful talent and good soul

Sometimes in some John songs I hear a Paul influence, either directly or indirectly. I hear the same with some of Paul's songs. It makes sense that Paul liked Beautiful Boy. It sounds like it could have been a Paul song.

"A drag isn't it" was clearly said as a snarky remark to the intrusive reporter. The reporter asks for the SECOND time when exactly did he hear about it, thus forcing to get back into that godawful moment which probably was the last drop for Paul. So he looks at the reporter with contempt and says the phrase snarkily as in 'yeah, you're enjoying this, aren't you' and then quickly bids farewell and retreats. If anyone doubts how Paul felts/feels - check a by now famous video of Paul talking about Chris and Val and afterwards listening to "Beautiful Boy." 'nuff said.

You could see Paul was in total shock.

Their reactions all felt so different but alike at the same time. Paul didn't seem to know what to say, George sounded like an enlightened monk, Ringo looked like he was going to break down and Yoko sounded so wise. But what they all had in common was that they spoke from the soul.

poor Paul , he looks like hes been crying, eyes are red. John was his mate and collaborator in music making, Paul shouldnt of been drilled with questions at that time!

i can’t imagine yoko’s pain. watching that happen. i wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

Still it seems like none, exept of Ringo is able to express real compassion

Paul looks jumpy, scanning the crowd. He was freaked out, understandably

John lives forever in the music and in our hearts ❤️

These are among the most beautiful caring and sensitive people the world has ever known. Highly intelligent and loving. True masters all of them especially John. RIP JL!

watching paul’s head snap away when he gets upset listening to beautiful boy always gets me. when he hears john say “your daddies here” in the song, i can only imagine the things he’s thinking of, being friends with john in childhood, knowing grief from losing his mum at a young age and thinking about Sean ono Lennon losing his dad, i’m sure all he can see is himself, in some sad, sick of pattern of life and death. such a strange, painful amd beautiful thing life is. i feel so privileged to live in the same era, let alone universe that the beatles lived in, they outlined so many of the hardships we all feel in such a short and perfect way.

Paul was fucking annoyed. His best friend in the world just fucking died and he's being heckled and nobody will let him be. People really took that out of context.

yoko is sweet and kind and you can see that while she accepts his passing it still hurts her and she speaks of him with such love and with such longing