Stella McCartney says abuse Linda McCartney faced in Wings “breaks my heart”
Stella McCartney has admitted that the abuse her late mother, Linda McCartney, suffered in Wings “breaks my heart”.
Stella made the comments in the new documentary Man on the Run, which explores how Paul McCartney, with the help of Linda and Wings, built himself back up during the 1970s following the collapse of The Beatles.
The film, directed by Morgan Neville, had a brief cinematic release last week and is set to arrive on Prime Video on February 25th.
In addition to their marriage, Linda was also Paul’s creative partner, too. However, prior to joining Wings, she hadn’t had any formal musical education and was a professional photographer rather than a musician, which led to her receiving criticism from an unkind portion of Beatles fans.
In the documentary, Stella says of her late mother (via Daily Mail), “She wasn’t a cookie-cutter example of someone you put in a band. What they, and she especially, had to go through, like when they isolated her voice and ridiculed her? I mean, it breaks my heart.”
The celebrated fashion designer also heartbreakingly acknowledged that the negative comments would have impacted Linda, adding, “I know that there was pain there. I knew she hurt. She wasn’t like, cold.”
However, the fact that Linda wasn’t brought down by the waves of negativity that travelled in her direction was a source of pride for Stella. She noted that “her bravery and spirit” likely “boosted a side that (Paul) had perhaps lost.”
In Man on the Run, McCartney also recalled the comments that were made towards Linda, remembering people claim, “She can’t do this, she can’t sing, she can’t play piano, she can’t do anything. Oh, they’re crazy man, what’s he got his old lady in the band for? Who the hell is this?”
Last week, while speaking during a Q&A session in London on February 18th, McCartney revealed the parts of the film involving Linda and his children touched him the most, sharing (per Uncut), “I think all the stuff with the kids and Linda, you know, is lovely to see. I mean, obviously the Linda stuff was very emotional, because she looks so beautiful… she’s so cool. So that comes over.”
He also recalled of Linda, “If there were ideas that were a little bit crazy, I’d say, ‘Should I do that? Could I do that?’ And she’d say, ‘It’s allowed.’ And it was like, ‘Yeah, that’s brilliant.’ It’s a great philosophy in life: ‘It’s allowed.’”
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