After public uproar, Dalai Lama apologizes for asking kid to ‘suck my tongue’

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama has apologized after a public uproar over a video that showed him asking a kid to “suck my tongue.”

“His Holiness wishes 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,” Dalai Lama said in an apology note on Monday, which his office shared on the official Twitter handle which enjoys the support of around 19 million followers.

“His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way," it added.

Tenzin Gyatso, 88, is the 14th Dalai Lama who left Tibet in the late 1950s and settled in a Dharamshala in India’s northern Himachal Pradesh province, where the incident was recorded in late February when the Dalai Lama is heard asking the kid to “suck my tongue” and pointing to his tongue.

It said the kid “asked the Dalai Lama for a hug.” He is seen kissing the lips of the kid.

The Dalai Lama, who enjoys a widespread fan following, partly because China sees him as a “separatist”, saw a huge social media outcry over the incident.

Robby Starbuck, a US-based director/producer, said: “The Dalai Lama asked a little boy to suck his tongue and not one mainstream news outlet is asking what the heck is going on here. This is pedophilic, abusive and totally sick.”

“You didn’t just hug the boy though, you asked him to ‘suck your tongue.’ Why leave that bit out?” Sameera Khan, one Twitter user, responded to the Dalai Lama’s statement.

The incident apparently happened at Tsuglagkhang monastery in late February when the Dalai Lama was interacting with around 120 students who had completed their skills training.