Chinese leaders no longer ‘Gaga’ about pop star

Chat with Dalai Lama gets her music banned

On Sunday, Lady Gaga made a friend while angering a nation’s leaders.

Before the Dalai Lama was set to deliver the keynote address at the annual United States Conference of Mayors in Indianapolis, the 81-year-old Buddhist leader met with the 30-year-old pop star.

The Dalai Lama fielded questions Lady Gaga had sourced from fans on social media. The result was a nearly 20- minute-long conversation, now posted to Facebook and viewed more than 3 million times, that meandered through suicide, yoga, meditation and advice on how to face the current horrors of the world. “Whatever happens,” the Dalai Lama said, “hope and self-confidence are essential.”

But to Chinese officials who view the Dalai Lama as a Tibetan separatist — and in December tried to paint him as a supporter of the Islamic State — the meeting was more sinister than it seemed.

“The purpose of his visits and activities in other countries is just to promote his proposal for Tibetan independence,” Hong Lei, a representative for China’s Foreign Ministry, said on Monday, according to the Associated Press.

For nearly six decades, since a Tibetan revolution against China failed in 1959, the Dalai Lama has been in exile from his homeland.

Lady Gaga’s friendliness toward the spiritual leader means she, too, has incurred the Chinese government’s wrath. The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television now legally forbids Lady Gaga and her music from appearing on the radio or TV. Her downloadable albums will be removed from online stores.