For decades, George Harrison was seen as the quiet Beatle, spiritual, patient, and above conflict.

 

 

 

 

 

That image, carefully polished over time, concealed a deep and unresolved bitterness toward one person above all others.

According to band insiders and later interviews, that person was Paul McCartney.

This was not a simple clash of musical opinions or creative rivalry.

It was a personal fracture that cut into Harrison’s sense of identity and self worth.

During the early years of the Beatles, George accepted his role as the junior partner.

He was younger, less confident, and constantly overshadowed by the Lennon McCartney partnership.

 

 

 

 

 

While John and Paul dominated songwriting, George’s contributions were often dismissed or delayed.

This imbalance planted resentment long before the public ever noticed tension.

By the late nineteen sixties, Harrison had grown dramatically as a songwriter.

Songs like Something and Here Comes the Sun proved he was no longer secondary.

Yet Paul McCartney continued to direct sessions with authority and impatience.

Witnesses to the Get Back sessions described Paul as controlling and dismissive toward George.

Cameras captured moments where Harrison was openly criticized and talked over.

One exchange ended with George quietly saying he would play whatever Paul wanted.

That line, delivered with exhaustion, revealed how deep the wound had become.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harrison later described this period as emotionally suffocating.

He felt treated as a hired hand rather than an equal.

The resentment was not only about music but about respect.

George believed Paul never truly acknowledged his growth or independence.

Even after the Beatles officially broke up, the bitterness did not fade.

Legal battles over Apple Corps kept old tensions alive for years.

Harrison sided strongly against Paul during disputes involving manager Allen Klein.

This decision widened the emotional distance between them.

In private conversations, Harrison reportedly spoke of Paul with sharp frustration.

Friends claimed he felt betrayed and belittled long after the band ended.

 

 

 

 

 

Publicly, however, he often softened his words.

The Beatles’ legacy had become too valuable to fracture openly.

Those close to the band say this was a deliberate choice.

Harsh truths were smoothed over to preserve the myth of brotherhood.

George’s spiritual transformation further complicated the narrative.

Fans assumed enlightenment meant forgiveness.

But spirituality did not erase memory or pain.

Harrison could pursue peace while still carrying unresolved anger.

In interviews, he occasionally let the mask slip.

 

 

 

 

 

He spoke about being dominated and underestimated.

Listeners who paid attention could hear the bitterness beneath his calm tone.

Paul, for his part, often minimized the conflict.

He framed it as normal band tension rather than emotional damage.

This difference in perspective deepened the divide.

Reunions were polite but never warm.

True reconciliation never fully arrived.

Even near the end of Harrison’s life, the relationship remained distant.

Those closest to him say the hurt was never healed.

It was simply managed, controlled, and hidden from public view.

The Beatles were marketed as a unified miracle.

Admitting lasting resentment would have shattered that image.

So the truth was quietly buried beneath nostalgia.

Behind the music that changed the world, one friendship never recovered.

George Harrison’s rage was not loud or explosive.

It was quiet, enduring, and carried with him for the rest of his life.