Yoko Ono slammed for bloody Lennon exhibit

London, May 22: John Lennon`s widow Yoko Ono has been criticised for "ghoulish exhibitionism" after she put the murdered legend`s bloodstained clothes and the bag which stored them up for exhibition. Ono, 76, had put up the blood stained clothes and glasses worn by Lennon when he was shot dead in 1980, along with the bloodied brown paper bag in which the items were returned to her on exhibition at New York`s Rock `n` Roll Hall of Fame.

The exhibition titled `John Lennon: The NYC Years` was put together by Ono to help "people to understand what violence is about", but it has been criticised by fans of the iconic singer as just an attention grabbing gimmick, reported Daily Mail online. "The world thinks John Lennon belongs to them, but Yoko thinks he belongs to her.She believes she owns the man and everything about him. The person in this position over Lennon`s legacy should protect their memory and reputation, not bring it into disrepute," said Bill Harry a college friend of Lennon`s who ran the Merseybeat magazine, which had a close relationship with The Beatles. Ono has campaigned against gun violence for years, once saying, "John, who was the king of the world and had everything any man could ever want, came back to me in a brown paper bag in the end. I want to show how many people have gone through similar tragedies." Bureau Report But her latest attempt has come under fire from all quarters including Beatles historians, who say that Ono has resorted to such shock tactics to get media`s attention. "I believe her when she says she`s still coming to terms with Lennon`s death. But there`s grief and then there`s ghoulish exhibitionism. Yoko Ono is addicted to attention. It`s important for her to get attention for anything she does in her own right, and so she reaches for the one thing guaranteed to get her media attention," said David Hepworth, rock historian, told the newspaper. "Years ago, she sold replicas of the bloodstained glasses and shirt he was wearing when he was shot, the shirt for 16,000 pounds and the glasses for 11,000 pounds. It was exploitation almost beyond belief. "She wants her moment, and she wants to be at the centre of the picture. But the world just wants to remember and love John Lennon," said Harry.