Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Paul McCartney on Black Lives Matter: Recalling How the Beatles Refused to Play in Front of a Segregated Audience

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Paul McCartney recalls below how the Beatles refused to play in front of a segregated audience back in the mid 60s. On Black Lives Matter, Paul says “I feel sick and angry about what happened to George Floyd.” You may recall that Paul’s song “Blackbird” was written as a song for racial equality. The only time the Beatles had a fifth member was Billy Preston, who played on “Get Back” and sessions for “Abbey Road” and “Let it Be.” And it was 38 years ago this week that Paul topped the charts with Stevie Wonder on “Ebony and Ivory,” a song that preached equality.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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