Yoko Ono Received Ominous Warning Before John Lennon’s Death

The 1980 assassination of John Lennon outside his New York City apartment building sent shockwaves throughout the global community, but for his wife, Yoko Ono, the senseless killing was the fulfillment of an ominous warning she had received earlier that year. Although she tried to protect him, there was only so much she could do in response to the message.

And as her late husband and musical icon put it, “If they’re going to get you, they’re going to get you.”

A Tense Conversation Between Widow and Friend

In the years following the Beatles’ tumultuous breakup, John Lennon and Yoko Ono formed their own musical collaborations and social circles outside of the Fab Four. Part of the latter included Elliot Mintz, a radio personality and public relations professional who quickly became close with the famous couple. In his 2024 book We All Shine On, Mintz recalled a harrowing conversation he had with Ono following Lennon’s murder.

In an excerpt published in The Times, Mintz tried to convince Ono to do a radio interview dispelling negative rumors that were swirling around the late ex-Beatle. Mintz told Ono that he had never asked her to publicly comment on rumors before, but given the recent events, it was more necessary than ever. Ono replied, “Let me check with my advisers.” Mintz described this team of advisers as “tarot readers and numerologists.”

“I’d never expressed skepticism about Yoko’s mystical beliefs,” Mintz wrote. “But for once, I pushed back. ‘Yoko, let me ask you something. If these advisers are as good as you believe they are, why is it that none of them saw what was going to happen to John? Why was there no warning?’”

This time, it was Ono’s turn to push back.

The Ominous Warning Yoko Ono Received

After long-time friend Elliot Mintz challenged Yoko Ono’s team of mystical advisers, she shocked the radio personality and public relations manager with her response. “‘Elliot, how do you know I wasn’t warned? Did you ever ask me if there were warnings?’” Mintz recalled Ono saying to him. So, he asked if there were.

“‘Yes,’ she answered. ‘I was told he was in danger in New York and that he should be removed immediately. That’s why I sent him to Bermuda over the summer. But I couldn’t keep him away forever. He had to come back at some point,’” Mintz wrote.

Ono’s confession of an ominous warning adds another heartbreaking layer to John Lennon’s premature death. Of course, Ono was right. There was nothing she could do to remove Lennon from the spotlight without abandoning their lives altogether. But to know that the grieving widow was simultaneously mourning her loss and processing the fulfillment of such a dark prophecy makes it all the more tragic.

Even Lennon knew that, in a way, he was always in some level of danger. “Look, Elliot,” Ono told Mintz. “You know how John felt about his own safety. John said, “If they’re going to get you, they’re going to get you.’ It didn’t matter what my advisers told me. He didn’t believe in bodyguards; he wouldn’t put up with them. He wanted to be free.”

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