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Home / Entertainment

Yoko Ono is suing John Lennon's former assistant Frederic Seaman

BANG! Showbiz
2 Oct, 2020 07:09 PM4 mins to read

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Yoko Ono, who is 87. Photo / Instagram

Yoko Ono, who is 87. Photo / Instagram

Yoko Ono is suing a former aide to the late John Lennon for talking about the singer.

The 87-year-old artist believes Frederic Seaman violated a court order which was imposed in 2002 when he sat down for a 23-minute interview earlier this month, during which he was "flanked by Lennon memorabilia" and discussed topics that he's legally banned from discussing, including his old book about the Beatles legend.

Ono claimed her husband's former personal assistant and driver discussed his intention to revise and reissue an expanded version of his 1991 tome, "The Last Days of John Lennon", which would "wilfully and intentionally violate" the 18-year-old injunction.

Ono previously stated Seaman had pleaded guilty to stealing her late husband's journals in 1983, but she eventually had to take him to court in the late 1990s.

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50 years ago, John and I had the idea to do the “WAR IS OVER! (If you want it)” campaign.⁣ ⁣ The experience and the memory of war was deeply imbedded in both our minds, and had become the springboard for our efforts to speak out for world peace. We did the “Bed-In for Peace”, unaware of the fact that we made our beds then, for life. Pairs of Acorns were sent to all heads of States of the world, asking them to be planted for Peace. “WAR IS OVER! (If you want it)” billboards were placed in main cities of several countries. We announced the birth of a Nutopian nation: a conceptual country anybody could join and be the ambassador of. Our white flag, and ordinary bed-sheet, symbolized a surrendering to Peace. “Give Peace A Chance” was our chant. “Imagine” was our anthem and a song of prayer. “Imagine all the people living life in peace.” This was a song asking people to imagine, to visualize, and realize our future. It was especially important that it was asking people to use the power of their own minds to make things happen.⁣ ⁣ The days of one hero building a castle for all of us are over. Our world is getting too complex for that. Now we need each of us to be a hero. The human race realized its dreams and innermost desires by wishing together. Sometimes, we got sidetracked and listened to destructive powers within us. When you read the history of the last century, you wonder how we ever survived its violent events. We did. And I am sure we will. They say the darkest hour is just before the dawn.⁣ ⁣ The road to Peace has been longer than John and I hoped it would be, but sitting here today as I write this, I can still see it waiting for us just over the horizon. Waiting for us to realize it’s already there.⁣ ⁣ love, yoko⁣ ⁣ Photo © Frank Barratt/Getty⁣ ⁣

A post shared by Yoko Ono (@yokoono) on Dec 17, 2019 at 9:04am PST

In 2002, a court ordered him to stop using family photos and other items to profit off the "Imagine" singer - who was shot dead in December 1980 - and apologised to Yoko in court.

This time around, according to TMZ, Ono is suing for copyright infringement over the family photos and breach of contract, and is seeking at least $150,000, plus other damages, as well as for Seaman to stop talking about her family.

Lennon's killer, Mark David Chapman, apologised to Ono during his latest parole hearing last month.

In a transcript from the hearing - at which he was denied parole for the 11th time - which was recently released, Chapman said: "I knew it was wrong and I did it for glory. One word, just glory. That's it. It was that he was famous, extremely famous. That's why he was at the top of the list.

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"I deserve the death penalty. I think that says it all. I'm sorry for the pain that I caused to her [Ono]."

The 65-year-old criminal - who shot Lennon outside his Manhattan apartment 40 years ago - said he has found faith in jail.

He added: "If released, I'd want to continue to tell people about the Lord."

After being denied parole, Chapman is now set to spend at least another two years behind bars for the murder, having lost his latest bid for freedom.

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