Due to its use of the racial epithet
nigger and what was criticised as an inappropriate comparison of
sexism to
racism against black Americans, most radio stations in the United States declined to play the record. It was released in the US on 24 April 1972 and peaked at number 57 on the
Billboard Hot 100, based primarily on sales, making it Lennon's lowest-charting US single in his lifetime. The song also charted at number 93 on the
Cash Box Top 100. The
National Organization for Women (NOW) awarded Lennon and Ono a "Positive Image of Women" citation for the song's "strong pro-feminist statement" in August 1972. In the 1 June 1972 issue of
Jet magazine, Apple Records ran an ad for the song with a purported quote from Congressman
Ron Dellums, a founding member of the
Congressional Black Caucus, claiming that he "agreed" with Lennon and Ono that "women are the niggers of the world." In the 15 June issue, Dellums wrote a letter in response rejecting that he had "agreed" with Lennon and Ono. He clarified that "In a white male-dominated society that sees the role of women as bed-partners, broom pushers, bottle washers, typists and cooks, women are niggers in THIS society."
Critique Record World said that "with hard rock backing and expert guitar work from Elephant's Memory, John and Yoko deliver the message suggested by the title" and called it "strong stuff, musically and lyrically."
The A.V. Club praised the messaging of the song, stating that it "makes a valid point, and one that’s revolutionary for the time".
Classic Rock critic Rob Hughes rated it as Lennon's 9th best political song, and
Rolling Stone listed the song as one of Lennon's 20 most underrated songs.
Ta-Nehisi Coates used the song in a more broad context of race relations, questioning whether Lennon and Ono "really had an understanding of what it meant to be a nigger".
Far Out Magazine opined that the song was "blunt, unambiguous, and not memorable enough to truly mean anything". ==Response to criticism==