Lennon's comments incited protests and threats, particularly throughout the Bible Belt in the Southern United States. Some radio stations stopped playing Beatles songs, records were publicly burned, press conferences were cancelled, and the Ku Klux Klan picketed concerts. The controversy coincided with the band's 1966 US tour and overshadowed press coverage of their newest album Revolver. Lennon apologised at a series of press conferences and explained that he was not comparing himself to Christ. The controversy exacerbated the band's unhappiness with touring, which they never undertook again; Lennon also refrained from touring in his solo career. In 1980, Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman; Chapman later stated that he was motivated partly by Lennon's remarks on religion, including the "more popular than Jesus" quote.
Lennon's comments incited protests and threats, particularly throughout the Bible Belt in the Southern United States. Some radio stations stopped playing Beatles songs, records were publicly burned, press conferences were cancelled, and the Ku Klux Klan picketed concerts. The controversy coincided with the band's 1966 US tour and overshadowed press coverage of their newest album Revolver. Lennon apologised at a series of press conferences and explained that he was not comparing himself to Christ. The controversy exacerbated the band's unhappiness with touring, which they never undertook again; Lennon also refrained from touring in his solo career. In 1980, he was murdered by Mark David Chapman; Chapman later stated that he was motivated partly by Lennon's remarks on religion, including the "more popular than Jesus" quote.
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