Sean Ono Lennon Debunks Rumors About How Much He and Brother Julian Inherited from John

Sean took to Twitter to respond to comments about the brothers’ inheritances

NEED TO KNOW

• Sean Ono Lennon says he and Julian received nearly equal trusts from their father John Lennon
• Julian’s inheritance became a public issue after John’s death left Yoko Ono controlling his estate
• A 16-year legal dispute followed, partly rooted in John’s divorce from Julian’s mother Cynthia Lennon

Sean Ono Lennon is responding to claims that he and brother Julian Charles John Lennon did not receive an equal inheritance following the death of their father, John Lennon.

Sean, 51, is the child of John and Yoko Ono, while John shared his older son, Julian, 63, with his ex-wife Cynthia Lennon.

On Oct. 11, Sean responded to a post that read of Sean and Julian: “One guy inherited most of the estate, the other largely cut out and forced to engaged in decades-long litigation in pursuit of a comparatively small share of it.”

In his response, Sean wrote: “Julian and I inherited the same amount from our dad. Our trusts were equal. Although his was slightly more, but negligibly so.”

The comments regarding Julian’s inheritance stem from a highly-publicized 16-year court battle that ensued after John was murdered in 1980, at which time Sean’s mother, Yoko Ono, was left in complete control of the Beatles legend’s massive estate, as reported by the Daily Express.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Julian became a successful musician and has released seven studio albums to date, including 2022’s Jude, a reference to the Beatles’ classic song “Hey Jude,” written by Paul McCartney in 1968 as a means of consoling young Julian as his parents divorced.

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In an earlier interview with PEOPLE, Julian said, “It was very much reflective, looking in the mirror deeply and trying to find that place of peace. I found it one or two times before, but it got lost in the muddle of life. Working on the album was about getting in touch with myself and who I am.”

In a 2020 interview with BBC Radio, Julian spoke with Sean about one of his last conversations with Lennon before his death.

“Dad and I had been getting on and speaking a lot more on the phone, you know. When I was sort of 15, 16 and 17,” he said at the time. “I just remember I was living in North Wales at the time and I’d spent six months or a year in boarding as well and I’d finally come home. And I was living at mom’s house and I was finishing up at school. I remember him playing ‘Starting Over’ [Lennon’s final song before his death] over the phone, he just mixed it.”