Yoko Ono: Never Alone

CBS News Sunday Morning has presented a rare interview with Yoko Ono on the occasion of Yes, a retrospective of her work at the Japan Society in New York City.

She discussed her art, her years with John Lennon, and the difficulty of life as a celebrity in a candid conversation with CBS News Correspondent Jeffrey Kofman. The complete interview was broadcast Sunday, Dec. 24, on CBS News Sunday Morning (9 to 10:30 a.m. ET).

Here are excerpts from the interview:

Jeffrey Kofman: "You know that people blame you for the breakup of the Beatles, that people call you the dragon lady?"

Yoko Ono: "Okay."

Kofman: "Does that obscure you as an artist?"

Ono: "I didn't know if it did or it did not. I was like a ... when I hear about things being said about me, I was terribly hurt, and I'd be very hurt, and John would say to me, 'Don't worry about it.'"

As Kofman discovers, the sense of her vulnerability has never left. She is reportedly never in public alone.

Kofman: "Do you have to take somebody with you?"

Ono: "Yes… Always, always."

Kofman: "Are you afraid to go out on your own?"

Ono: "Yes, but it does limit my freedom — and I'm such a free, loving person — so it does bother me a little. You know, I would love to walk alone."

Kofman: "When people look back on your career, do you think they will remember you as an artist?

Ono: "I don't know. I just wish that people will be kinder to me when I pass away."