Sean Ono Lennon has pushed back at a fan’s remarks about him and his half-brother, Julian Lennon, after sharing a photo of them together on his birthday.
Sean, a musician and producer, seemingly wanted to clear up misconceptions about how much inheritance he and Julian received after the Beatles legend was killed outside his apartment on 8 December, 1980.
Julian was born in 1963 to John and his first wife, the artist and author Cynthia Powell. Sean, born in 1975, is the son of John and his second wife, the artist, musician and peace activist Yoko Ono.
On Sunday 11 October, Sean, who turned 51 on two days before, shared a photo with Julian that showed the pair looking out across a beautiful lake surrounded by forests, writing: “Had a great birthday with my brother.”
Social media personality and author Wesley Yang shared the post and remarked how “one guy [was] abandoned by his famous dad” while the other was “embraced and closely attended to by the same dad, who he then saw murdered as a young child”.
“One guy inherited most of the estate, the other largely cut out and forced to engaged [sic] in decadeslong litigation in pursuit of a relatively small share of it.”
Julian and I inherited the same amount from our dad. Our trusts were equal. Although his was slightly more, but negligibly so.
Sean then responded to this comment, writing: “Julian and I inherited the same amount from our dad. Our trusts were equal. Although his was slightly more, but negligibly so.”
The Independent has contacted Julian Lennon’s representative for comment.
Had a great bday with my brother…@JulianLennon pic.twitter.com/Gc2CFgERGu
— Seán Ono Lennon (@seanonolennon) October 11, 2026
Following John’s death, Yoko Ono was left in control of his estate. Julian had to fight a 16-year legal battle before he was able to claim his inheritance – reported to be around $20m.
Julian later used a portion of his inheritance to buy back letters and postcards he and his late father had exchanged, along with handwritten lyrics his father had written for songs inspired by Julian, including “Hey Jude”, after they were put up for auction by Yoko.
Since the settlement was reached in 1996, Sean and Julian have maintained a close relationship.
In an interview with The Independent last year, Sean said he became interested in music because of his famous father: “I always felt like music was a way of getting closer to him.”
He also revealed that Yoko is all-but retired from public life: “I try to give her privacy now – she doesn’t want to do press and she’s not interested in being a public figure anymore.”
He and his longterm partner, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, welcomed their first child – John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s first grandchild – last month.
Sharing a post to Instagram, Sean announced that he and Muhl had created “a Human Bean” and told his followers that their son’s name was Aurelius.
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