Kind of loaded question haha. So I was looking at the blog that you just re-blogged from and I found that they were re-blogging some unsubstantiated claims about Brian assaulting John, and that this made Paul dislike Brian. What’s your opinion on this based from your research? And what do you think was the cause of any tension between Brian and Paul?
Okay so I did just see the post you were talking about and it's definitely...a lot. You basically summed it up here but there were some good points made in the actual post. 1: Steve Gaines claimed that Brian committed an act of date rape against John. (Notice the difference in sexual relations from the 60s compared to now.) 2: Paul heard about this and was extremely upset and caused a strained relationship with Brian. 3. The relationship between John and Brian after this event happened. 4. Paul's want/need for power in the band. 5. This one specific quote from the actual podcast: "suggests that Brian didn’t feel guilty about it, or think it was wrong, which either makes him a sociopathic sexual predator, or suggests that he genuinely did not think that he was hurting John."
Okay, as for point 1, the whole issue stems from the accusation that Brian sexually assaulted John. Here's the actual quote about it from the podcast: "When Brian came back from Spain, he said that John became inebriated and sort of passed out, and Brian took advantage and performed oral sex." So, clearly, this is about the Barcelona trip. One major point I've considered on this is, why exactly is this never brought up in reference to the trip if it did happen? The trip is a major part of the Brian/John relationship/affair rumors. It feels as if this would have come up more often if this were true. But obviously, I'm not going to sit here and confirm that it didn't, just listing reasons why I have my doubts.
2. This is really where your question comes in, which is Paul's relationship with Brian after this event. Here's the thing. If this did happen, and Paul knew about it, sure, obviously that would affect their relationship if John were hurt by it. But John didn't seem hurt by it. And if we look at Brian and Paul's relationship before the Barcelona trip, it would be about the same. I do believe Paul held a little resentment for not having the same hold over Brian that John did. If you choose to believe their relationship got that much worse after the trip, that could very well be from the resentment that built over the span of the trip while Paul was left in Liverpool. All of these resentment issues are really just stemming from control issues, which we know Paul struggled with all his life, and likely still does now. Plus, likely the perceived rejection of a father figure, for a second time in his life. I find it unlikely that it was because of any harm Brian did to John. (Covered point 4 in here too.)
As for their relationship after Barcelona, here's the thing. We will never know for sure what happened. John and Brian have been gone for decades. And Paul likely doesn't even know the whole truth himself. I think the real problem as of right now, is why people are choosing to make these claims about Brian based on any one quote when there are loads of other claims, including from John himself that express that their relationship held up after Barcelona. Wouldn't we have seen much more change in their relationship if John was hurt by anything that happened? And I believe now is the time to bring up an important point. The podcasters are looking at this from a very 2020 perspective. That completely lacks the nuance that this situation actually has. Obviously, no one is arguing that if it did happen, that it wasn't bad, or that it wasn't harmful. But it would be very different for Brian and John! It feels as if they didn't reflect on what the actual reactions and feelings on it would be in the 1960s.
That last quote is particularly telling to me though. "Sociopathic sexual predator." Are you serious? While they say that they believe the latter, using the terminology of "sociopathic sexual predator" harmful in itself. Framing as a two sided issue of either Brian was an innocent man who didn't think he hurt John, or he's literally a sociopath, is so incredibly wrong. It tells me everything I need to know about what they know about Brian, which is practically nothing. They know Brian from doing research into John. Which, sure, is the way most fans know about Brian, but if you're going to sit here and make unfounded accusations, you have to do more research. This is horribly mischaracterizing both Brian and John.
Another thing that came to mind as I'm writing all this, where is the corroboration? We have one report that this occurred, and a dozen others that say it didn't. If you're going to present something that cannot be corroborated or proven true without any reasonable doubt, you HAVE to say that. This is not a light accusation to be making without reasonable evidence to back it up. Because ultimately, they aren't looking into the truth. They're assuming it and then proceeding to assume how the people involved feel. Which shouldn't be the focus of conversation if it can't be proven at all!
What I'm seeing out of this podcast is that they are looking at it from the prevailing John-centric narrative. And while we absolutely should be looking at it from that perspective, I don't know that they had spent enough time on Brian. We know from multiple reports that he was the chased, rather than the chaser. He was also very afraid, terrified even, of being a homosexual. How does that line up with the narrative that he took advantage of John while he was asleep? In my opinion, I don't see it lining up at all.
But of course, I do want to side with the victim in cases of assault. So, as for John's side, we do have a quote from Lennon himself that does say that Brian did coerce him into the act. This was said to Pete Shotton, who was a trusted friend, and therefore more likely to be the truth. Although, ultimately, John had an issue with the fear of emasculation and if anything did truly happen, would he have been honest about what happened? Further, would he have still spent as much time with Brian as he did? Because pictures and reports all still show a close relationship between Brian and John. Would John have let that happen? We all know the story of Bob Wooler at Paul's 21st birthday. I don't think John would have let Brian slide if anything truly abhorrent had happened.
Just to conclude, as I do with most of my posts, I'll say that all of this is my opinion, take it as you will since we will never truly know what happened. I expect probably a bit of disagreement, which is fine, as this is a delicate topic. Hope this answered your question to your liking and that I didn't leave anything important out.
