• John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s move to New York City in the early 1970s is the subject of the new documentary One to One: John & Yoko
• The film will explore the backlash Ono faced from Beatles fans upon entering into a relationship with Lennon
• “Society suddenly treated me as a woman who belonged to a man who is one of the most powerful people in our generation,” she says in the documentary

A new documentary is revisiting the difficult road Yoko Ono faced when she fell in love with John Lennon in the late 1960s.

One to One: John & Yoko focuses on never-before-seen material of the high-profile couple as they uproot their life in England to move to New York City in 1971, where a changing American culture collides with the pair’s desire to do good in the world.

In one moving section of the film, Ono gives a speech at the First International Feminist Conference, which took place in 1973. During the emotional address, Ono, then 40, detailed the harsh way she was treated by society after she first started dating Lennon and how a constant barrage of criticism chipped away at her self-confidence.

When Ono and the former Beatle first met in 1966, she was already established as a successful artist. She told the crowd in her speech that because she was an independent, creative woman, society had already deemed her a “bitch” — and when she and Lennon got together, she was “upgraded into a witch,” which was “very flattering,” she quipped.

“Society suddenly treated me as a woman who belonged to a man who is one of the most powerful people in our generation. And some of his closest friends told me that probably I should stay in the background, I should shut up, I should give up my work and that way I’ll be happy,” she said. “Because the whole society started to attack me, and the whole society wished me dead, I started to stutter.”

She continued, “I consider myself a very eloquent woman, and also an attractive woman. And suddenly, because I was associated with John, I was considered an ugly woman, ugly Jap, who took your monument away from you. That’s when I realized how hard it is for women. If I can start to stutter, being a strong woman, it is a very hard road.”

Elsewhere in the documentary, viewers hear a conversation between Ono, now 91, and the late musician David Peel, in which she talks about how difficult it was to be the scapegoat for the Beatles’ breakup. She recalls receiving letters while pregnant that read, “I wish you and your baby would die,” and also getting a rubber doll that had been poked with needles.

She also expressed disappointment with Lennon’s former bandmates Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr for not setting the record straight on her involvement (or lack thereof) in their split.

“I know for sure that whenever the reporters meet Paul, George or Ringo, they would ask, ‘What do you think about Yoko?’ Now, whenever they ask me about the Beatles, I said, ‘Beatles are four beautiful, very intelligent, creative, artistic people… and they’ve outgrown the group.’ Whereas none of the Beatles made any comment on me,” she said. “Have you heard of any comment about me in the press by the Beatles? They ignored me. That’s male chauvinism.”

Lennon and Ono married in 1969, and moved to New York City two years later. Lennon was shot and killed in New York in 1980 at age 40.

The “Imagine” singer, for his part, praised his wife to a journalist in a clip featured in the documentary and explained how falling in love with her changed him for the better.

“I was in the conspiracy subconsciously. You know, the same reason as most men are: ignorance. And I fell in love with an independent, eloquent, outspoken, creative, genius — for me. I started waking up,” he said.

One to One: John & Yoko, directed by Kevin Macdonald, culminates in the 1972 One to One Benefit Concert, the only full-length show Lennon did post-Beatles.

“As they experience a year of love and transformation in the US, John and Yoko begin to change their approach to protest — ultimately leading to the One to One concert, which was inspired by a Geraldo Rivera exposé they watched on TV,” a press release says.

The concert, which took place at Madison Square Garden in N.Y.C., ultimately raised $1.5 million to help the children of Willowbrook State School, a home for children with special needs.