Rumors that Lennon was gay were swirling when things came to a head with a DJ the Beatles knew named Bob Wooler. Wooler was a very close friend of the Beatles and had introduced them on stage some 300 times. This incident happened at Paul's 21st birthday party, on June 18, 1963. At the party, Wooler was joking around with John and said (with heavy gay intimations): "Come on John, what really happened with you and Brian (Epstein)? Everybody knows anyway, so tell us." John had been heavily drinking that night and, in a blind rage, he proceeded to beat the stuffing out of a very surprised Bob Wooler, literally kicking him repeatedly in the ribs as he lay on the ground in a bloody heap. According to John, the only reason he actually stopped the savage beating was because, "I realized I was actually going to kill him… I just saw it like a screen. If I hit him once more, that’s really going to be it. I really got shocked and for the first time thought: 'I can kill this guy.'" Wooler was rushed to the hospital and given treatment for a variety of things, including broken ribs. Source.