Dalai Lama apologises after kissing boy and asking him to ‘suck my tongue’

Dalai Lama

The Tibetan spiritual leader has apologised after his behaviour with a young Indian boy was condemned as "disgusting" online.

The Dalai Lama has apologised to a young boy and his family after a video of him kissing the child sparked outrage online.

The Tibetan spiritual leader was criticised for “inappropriate” behaviour after he was seen kissing the Indian boy on the lips, before asking him to “suck” his tongue.

The 87-year-old said he “regrets the incident” in a statement published by his office on Monday.

"His Holiness wishes to apologise 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’s office tweeted.

"His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras.

"He regrets the incident."

The young boy reportedly asked the Dalai Lama for a hug at a public event in Dharamshala, India in late February.

The video widely shared on social media shows him asking the boy to “kiss here”, pointing to his cheek after he hugs him.

The pair rest their heads together, before the Dalai Lama pulls the boys face in for a kiss on the lips. 

As the boy pulls away smiling, the spiritual leader pokes out his tongue and asks him to “suck my tongue”.

Several male dignitaries are seen laughing and clapping in the background.

The footage has prompted a visceral backlash online with people labelling it “disgusting”, “inappropriate” and “not playful or funny”.

“Your recent behaviour is unacceptable, specially since you are considered an authority figure and role model when it comes to moral behaviour,” one user said on Twitter in response to the apology.

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— Dalai Lama (@DalaiLama) April 10, 2023

Sticking out one’s tongue has been known as a sign of respect  in Tibet since the ninth century and is used as a traditional greeting.

The 14th Dalai Lama rose to international prominence when he won the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize and is a vocal advocate of Tibetan independence from China.

The spiritual leader of Tibet has been living in exile in northern India since a failed uprising against China in 1959.

In 2019 he was forced to defend remarks that if his successor was to be a woman, she would have to be “attractive”.