Again, from Wikipedia:  “The Beatles attended a press conference in Chicago, Illinois; Lennon did not want to apologize but was advised by [Brian] Epstein and [Beatles press officer Tony] Barrow that he should.  [John] Lennon quipped that ‘if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I might have got away with it’ but stressed that he was simply remarking on how other people viewed and popularized the band.”  

(September 2014)