John Lennon Apologized for Calling His Relationship With May Pang His ‘Lost Weekend’
Between 1973 and 1975, John Lennon and Yoko Ono separated for a period he later called his “Lost Weekend.” During this time, he dated his assistant, May Pang, and the pair moved to Los Angeles together. The two had a loving relationship, so Pang was upset when John Lennon referred to it as his “Lost Weekend.” According to Pang, the former Beatle did apologize for calling their relationship this.
John Lennon called his separation from Yoko Ono his ‘Lost Weekend’
Pang started working at Apple Corps., the company founded by The Beatles, at the age of 19, and she shortly became the assistant to Lennon and Ono. The couple started having marital problems in 1973, and Ono approached Pang asking her if she could start a relationship with Lennon. Pang repeatedly said no, but Ono was adamant about orchestrating everything.
Lennon and Pang did start dating, and they moved to LA together. Lennon was still having a rough time being away from Ono, and his drinking problem worsened, leading to several public drunken outbursts. However, “Lost Weekend” also saw a musical explosion from the former Beatle as he released three albums: Mind Games, Walls and Bridges, and Rock ‘n’ Roll. The “Lost Weekend” ended in early 1975 when Lennon abruptly reconciled with Ono.
Lennon apologized to May Pang for calling their relationship a “Lost Weekend”
Pang shares her side of the story in a new documentary titled The Lost Weekend: A Love Story. The documentary aims to change the narrative that their relationship was just a brief fling. In an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, Pang said their relationship was more intimate than Lennon might have expressed in public. He later apologized for calling it the “Lost Weekend,” a reference to an old Western film.
“He came back, and he apologized for that. One of the reasons he said was it easier for him [to call it that] because people were also talking about him being drunk [during that year and a half],” Pang shared. “He did a lot of metaphors and references to movies because he loved the movies… and The Lost Weekend was a [Billy Wilder] movie [from 1945] with Ray Milland, who woke up drunk all the time. But it wasn’t a lost weekend. It’s a love story. And that’s where I’m changing that narrative.”
The pair remained in contact after breaking up
After the “Lost Weekend” ended, John Lennon and May Pang remained in contact. Pang had developed a bond with his son, Julian, and was friends with his first wife, Cynthia. Lennon did move on with Yoko, and the pair had their son, Sean. Pang said they remained in contact, and Lennon was still thinking about her until his death in 1980.
“Our last conversation was that year. He had called me during Memorial Day weekend. You don’t forget these things. All he said was hello, and I knew it was his voice,” Pang explained. “I said, ‘Hi, John.’… He said, ‘Do you have a moment to talk?’ I said sure, and we talked for almost two hours. … He said, ‘I just wanted to talk. I’ve been thinking about you. I’ve been trying to figure out how we can catch up with one another, face-to-face.’ So, it was there. Obviously, he lost track of time.”
