Why are A-listers silent on Dalai Lama?
LOS ANGELES - Lady Gaga, Richard Gere and Sharon Stone are part of a swathe of Hollywood A-listers who have been quick to make the most of a photo opportunity with the Dalai Lama.
But they have all remained deafeningly silent after a controversial video of him kissing a young Indian boy on the lips before asking him to ‘suck’ his tongue emerged.
Footage of the uncomfortable incident showed the moment the Tibetan spiritual leader invited the boy on stage during a charity event at his temple in Dharamshala, India in February.
It went viral on social media and triggered heavy criticism from charities including from the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, a US organisation that supports the survivors of spiritual and religious abuse.
The Dalai Lama (87), apologised for his actions in a formal statement on Tuesday, but his supporters have failed to criticise him.
Lady Gaga (37), embraced the spiritual leader during a meeting in June 2016 where the pair pushed for more kindness in the world.
The 13-time Grammy-winning singer sat down to speak with the Dalai Lama at a conference in Indianapolis about the benefits of compassion and meditation and they were late pictured together.
He answered questions Gaga chose from social media about how to deal with injustices in the world live on Facebook.
‘I’m one 81-year-old person with quite a lot of experiences. My experiences much bigger than your experiences,’ the Dalai Lama joked.
While she replied: ‘You didn’t know this, but I’m much older than you.’ joked Gaga.
Hollywood icon Richard Gere (73), attended the Dalai Lama’s 87th birthday celebration in Dharamshala last year. The actor was seen shaking hands with the Buddhist spiritual leader after he inaugurated a museum containing the archives of the institution of the Dalai Lama.
‘I was able to meet his Holiness Dalai Lama in Dharamshala 40 years ago, which clearly changed my life,’ he said at the event.
‘So I am here today to commemorate and inaugurate this incredible building that houses his lifetime work,” the actor said.
Gere is a Buddhist and long-time friend of the spiritual leader, but has not condemned his actions following the emergence of the footage.
He was forced to distance himself from the comments but the pair were all smiles when they saw each other at The Lourdes Foundation Leadership in the 21st Century event in Los Angeles in 2014.
It is not clear when they first met, but the actress controversially suggested an earthquake in China, which killed 70 000 people and caused US$150 billion worth of damage in 2008, was bad karma for its handling of Tibet.
He was forced to distance himself from the comments but the pair were all smiles when they saw each other at The Lourdes Foundation Leadership in the 21st Century event in Los Angeles in 2014.