John Lennon had 'raucous sex' with woman at party as wife Yoko Ono overheard, book reveals: 'He was imperfect'

"I can forgive him, but I don’t know if I can ever forget what happened," friend and author Elliot Mintz recalled Ono telling him.

A new book about John Lennon sheds new light on an unusual day in the life of the former Beatle.

Elliot Mintz, a longtime friend of the musician and his wife Yoko Ono, recounted a bizarre incident from Nov. 1972 wherein Lennon had "loud, raucous sex" with another woman at a party in his new book We All Shine On: John, Yoko & Me (per PEOPLE).

<p>Susan Wood/Getty</p> Yoko Ono and John Lennon in 1968

Susan Wood/Getty

Yoko Ono and John Lennon in 1968

Mintz described a gathering hosted by activist Jerry Rubin in Greenwich Village on election night in 1972. As incumbent Richard Nixon's margin of victory grew wider over Democratic challenger George McGovern, Lennon began to drink more heavily, and eventually ended up in bed with another party guest.

The encounter was no secret to the other partygoers. "Throughout it all,” the author wrote, "Yoko sat on the sofa, in stunned, mortified silence, as other guests began awkwardly getting up to leave — until they realized that their coats were in the bedroom where John was having sex."

Related: John Lennon and Paul McCartney's sons come together to release new song 'Primrose Hill'

Mintz reflected on the incident in an interview with PEOPLE. "He was placing [Ono] in the most embarrassing position that you could ever place a woman in — having a romp in the hay in another room with thin walls while your wife was attending a small party and could hear everything," he said. "Yoko is a very stoic woman, but it would have severe consequences."

The author said that the multimedia artist confided him after Lennon's transgression occurred.  "I can forgive him, but I don’t know if I can ever forget what happened," he remembered Ono saying. "I don’t know if it will ever be the same.”

Related: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono remember John Lennon on the 40th anniversary of his death

Mintz noted the discrepancy between Lennon's idealistic persona as an artist and his troubled personal life. "The reality is," the author said, "as I would learn over the years in the bad behavior department, John would say to me, 'Ellie,' which is what he called me, ‘I’m not always the 'Imagine' guy.’”

<p>Jack Mitchell/Getty</p> Yoko Ono and John Lennon

Jack Mitchell/Getty

Yoko Ono and John Lennon

However, he also told PEOPLE that Lennon strived to live a life worthy of his work. "Don’t get me wrong," Mintz said. "Much of the time, he was the person that we related to, who wrote 'Imagine' and expressed his vision of the kind of world where we would all like to live. But he didn’t always stay there. He was imperfect."

Mintz argued that Lennon's imperfections made him more attractive as an artist. "It’s one of the reasons, by the way, we all fell in love with him — because he was real," he said.

Related: Hear the Beatles' final song together — and see how they recorded it across five decades

The Beatle's election indiscretion was not the only moment of strain on his highly-publicized relationship with Ono, which began while he was still married to his first wife Cynthia. Lennon and Ono separated for 18 months between 1973 and 1975, during which Lennon made headlines numerous times for his drunken shenanigans with Harry Nilsson and his romance with May Pang. The couple later reconciled and remained together until Lennon's murder in 1980.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

We All Shine On: John, Yoko & Me is now available.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.