Stella McCartney opens up about the bullying her mother, Linda, faced as a member of Wings — and why it still hurts decades later.
When people think of Beatle wives under fire, Yoko Ono usually comes to mind.
She was vilified for breaking up The Beatles, blamed for the band’s problems, and became the ultimate target of public ridicule.
But Linda McCartney faced her own relentless criticism when she joined Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles band Wings – and it’s a story that’s not often talked about.
Linda was a professional photographer, not a trained musician. Stepping onto stage with Paul, she found herself mocked for her singing, ridiculed for her keyboard playing, and told repeatedly that she didn’t belong.
The press questioned her talent, the public joined in, and the scrutiny was unrelenting. For those who loved her, it was painful to watch.
“I knew she hurt,” Stella McCartney reflected in an interview ahead of the Prime Video documentary Paul McCartney: Man on the Run. Stella calls it “bullying,” a word that captures how cruel the press and public could be.
Linda didn’t ask to be a rock star – she was supporting her husband, raising a family, pursuing her photography, and following her own creative interests – but she bore the brunt of vitriol that no one should have to face.
The McCartneys tried to shield their children from the toxicity, sending Stella and her siblings to local state schools.
Fame couldn’t fully protect them, but Stella’s reflection shows how deeply Linda’s treatment affected the family – which speaks volumes about just how remarkable she was, both as a mother and as a woman who carried herself with courage and grace under fire.
In the end, the criticism didn’t define her – her courage, creativity, and devotion did, and we are so here for it.
