Old Footage Appears to Show John Lennon Mocking People With Disabilities

A television series called “It Was Alright in the 1960’s” has brought to light footage that appears to show Beatles legend John Lennon mocking people with disabilities, the Mirror reported.

In the clip from a television appearance in the 1960’s, Lennon can be seen making faces, moving his hands and talking in a way that appears to be mimicking people with cognitive disabilities and delays.

See the footage below: 

The video, despite being filmed more than five decades ago, sparked a lot of outrage on Twitter where people used the hashtag #AlrightInthe60s to voice their opinions about it.

Lorainne Bellamy, the spokeswoman for Mencap, a U.K. charity for people with learning disabilities, called the footage “shocking and painful to watch,” The Independent reported.

“Times may have changed but I always find it hard to believe how such famous people can have these horrible views about real people,” Bellamy told the outlet. “I have seen attitudes towards people like me change a great deal since I was a child. It wasn’t uncommon for people with a learning disability to be publicly laughed at and made fun of at the time… Much has changed but there is still a long way to go before the public realizes people with a learning disability have the same hopes, dreams and feelings as anyone else, and should be treated with the same level of respect as anyone. We are not here to be laughed at and I hope that today’s celebrities would never consider acting like this.”