Dalai Lama Apologizes After Video Shows Him Kissing Boy
April 10, 2023 10:06AM PDT
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in a ceremonial yellow hat arrives at the Tsuglakhang temple to give a sermon in Dharamsala, India, Tuesday, March 7, 2023. The Dalai Lama apologized Monday, April 10, after a video showing him kissing a child on the lips at a public gathering in February provoked outrage. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia, File)
DHARAMSALA, India (AP) — Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has apologized after a video showing him kissing a child on the lips triggered criticism.
A statement posted on his official website says the 87-year-old leader regretted the incident and wished to apologize to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, “for the hurt his words may have caused.”
The Dalai Lama was taking questions from the audience in February in Dharamsala, the Indian town where he lives in exile, when the boy asked if he could hug him.
After a hug, the Dalai Lama asks the boy to kiss him on the lips and ”suck his tongue,” as the boy sticks out his own tongue and leans in, prompting laughter from the audience.
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