Paul McCartney is at the center of a strange claim that reads more like rock‑and‑roll folklore than a news brief: a former Wings drummer says McCartney and his then-wife mailed a critic a piece of their baby’s feces after a negative review, and those claims appear in a new oral history that has reignited debate about celebrity retaliation and press behavior.
The allegation comes from Denny Seiwell, who drummed with Wings after the Beatles split, and he recounts the episode as part of an extended oral history of that era, painting a picture of hurt feelings that turned into an unorthodox payback. Seiwell’s account centers on a critic who was taken backstage, allowed to see the band’s routine, and then published a harsh review without attending the show. That contrast — hospitality followed by what was seen as betrayal — is the core of the tale.
Seiwell says the critic “didn’t stay for the concert. He flew home,” and soon after produced what Seiwell describes as a “full-on review” that attacked everything from the band’s sound to their lifestyle, which stung people who had tried to be accommodating. “And he slagged it. Everything about it,” Seiwell said in the book, according to the interviews that accompanied the release, and that phrasing is used to explain why emotions escalated quickly. The narrative in the book frames the episode as a personal response to a perceived professional slight rather than a calculated public stunt.
According to Seiwell’s recollection, Paul and Linda McCartney decided to send a shocking message, and the details he offers are vivid and specific, meant to underscore how visceral the reaction was. “So, okay, we take [the critic] along to the sound check. We let him backstage,” Seiwell recalled in the oral history, which hit shelves Tuesday. The memory is presented as part anecdote, part confession, and it sets the stage for the more graphic description that follows.
Seiwell says the couple used an everyday hotel item to deliver their retaliation and that the parcel they sent was unmistakably personal, a gesture intended to humiliate and to make a point about respect and honesty. “Stella was a baby at the time,” Seiwell said. “So Paul and Linda took one of those little plastic soap dishes from the hotel we were in, and they got one of Stella’s turds, put it in the soap dish, wrapped it up, and sent it to him.” The imagery is raw and intentional, and Seiwell frames it as a response to what he calls a crude pressman.
Seiwell is candid about his own reaction and about the camp’s view of the stunt, saying he “thought it was the perfect response to a crude British pressman,” which signals that at least some insiders saw the episode as justified payback rather than an escalation gone too far. “You heard that from me,” he added. “I don’t care if they want it to be known or not.” That line reads like a definitive sign-off, with Seiwell owning the memory and the shock value that goes with it.
The book’s appearance has prompted readers and fans to revisit old stories about the tensions between artists and the media in the 1970s, a time when touring life, press access, and personal boundaries frequently collided. McCartney has not publicly commented on the specific claim, and reactions to the anecdote have ranged from disbelief to amusement to discomfort, depending on how people weigh private prank against public reputation. The episode, true or not, is now part of the broader conversation about legacy, accountability, and how celebrities handle criticism in an era that often blurs the lines between personal and professional.
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