Hollywood A-listers who have met Dalai Lama remain silent after controversial video with young boy

Lady Gaga, Richard Gere and Sharon Stone are part of a string of Hollywood A-listers who quickly made the most of a photo opportunity with the Dalai Lama.

But they have all remained deafeningly silent after a controversial video emerged of him kissing a young Indian boy on the lips before asking him to “suck” his tongue.

Footage of the awkward incident showed the moment when the Tibetan spiritual leader invited the boy on stage at a February charity event at his temple in Dharamshala, India.

It went viral on social media and drew heavy criticism from charities, including from the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, an American organization that supports survivors of mental and religious abuse.

The Dalai Lama, 87, issued a formal statement on Tuesday to apologize for his actions, but his supporters have failed to criticize him.

Lady Gaga, 37, hugged the spiritual leader at a gathering in June 2016, where the couple pushed for more kindness in the world.

The 13-time Grammy-winning singer sat down to speak to the Dalai Lama at a conference in Indianapolis on the benefits of compassion and meditation and they were photographed together late on.

Questions that Gaga chose from social media about how to deal with injustice in the world, he answered live on Facebook.

‘I am an 81-year-old with quite a few experiences. My experiences are much greater than yours,” the Dalai Lama joked.

As she replied, “You didn’t know this, but I’m much older than you.” joked Gaga.

Hollywood icon Richard Gere, 73, attended the celebration of the Dalai Lama’s 87th birthday in Dharamshala last year.

The actor was seen shaking hands with the Buddhist spiritual leader after he opened a museum containing the archives of the Dalai Lama’s institution.

“I was able to meet His Holiness Dalai Lama in Dharamshala 40 years ago, which has clearly changed my life,” he said at the event.

“So I’m here today to commemorate and dedicate this incredible building that houses his life’s work,” the actor said.

Gere is a Buddhist and an old friend of the spiritual leader, but has not condemned his actions after the images appeared.

He had 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’s not clear when they first met, but the actress controversially suggested that a 2008 earthquake in China that killed 70,000 people and caused $150 billion in damage was bad karma for her dealings with Tibet.

He had 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.

Stars Eva Longoria, Jeremy Renner and Lupita Nyong’o also met him at the same event and posed for a photo with him.

Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have also spent time with the Dalai Lama and have been photographed with him.

Bush came face to face with the spiritual leader at The Bush Center in Dallas, Texas, in July 2015, and the 43rd president showed him a portrait he had painted of the Dalai Lama.

The Nobel laureate was one of the leaders who most visited and hosted Bush during his tenure in the White House.

The pair became close and in 2012 His Holiness told Piers Morgan on CNN, “I love President Bush.”

Morgan replied, “Really?”

The Dalai Lama replied, “Yes, I really do. Like a human. Not as president of America. Sometimes his policies may not be very, very successful. But as a person, as a person, very nice person. I love him.’

He added: ‘After he sort of [began] the kind of crisis in Iraq… I told him, “I love you, but your policy is concerned, I have some reservations,” I told him.’.

While Obama met the Dalai Lama a few times during his term and in 2017, the former president traveled to India to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader, where she talked about compassion and altruism.

The Dalai Lama said meeting Obama was “very good, I think we are really two old trusted friends.”

He has also built up a friendship with King Charles whom he described as his best friend when meeting in 2012.

And Camilla, the wife of the royal family, was with them for the informal meeting at Clarence House.

“I always think of him as a close, best friend. From the very beginning, I felt ‘very nice person, good person,'” the Dalai Lama said.

“He (has) turned out to be a most wonderful, sensible, good man.”

He also urged Charles to continue his work and in touching scenes the pair held hands, touched heads and patted each other on the back during their time together.

In the controversial video that has gone viral, the boy asks the Dalai Lama “can I hug you?” to which Tenzin Gyatso replies, “Okay – come!”

The spiritual leader first asks the boy to kiss him on the cheek, before pointing to his lips. He holds the boy’s face as they briefly kiss, then the pair press their foreheads together.

Just as the boy is about to drive away, the Dalai Lama instructs him, “And suck my tongue” – prompting him to slowly creep forward towards the 87-year-old’s outstretched tongue.

Attendees at the event, held by India’s M3M Foundation, can be heard laughing as the boy sits awkwardly in front of the elderly Tibetan Buddhist leader and nervously follows his orders.

Before letting the child go, the Dalai Lama imparts some wisdom to him, telling him to “look at those good people who create peace and happiness” and not “follow the people who always kill other people.”

Some of the Dalai Lama’s supporters came to his aid, claiming that their leader was just “joking.”

While the political leader of the exiled Central Tibetan government defended him, insisting he was just displaying his “innocent grandfatherly, affectionate attitude.”

The spiritual leader’s office posted a formal statement on social media on Tuesday apologizing for his actions.

“His Holiness wishes to apologize to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends around the world, for any pain his words may have caused,” the statement read.

“His Holiness often teases the people he meets in an innocent and playful manner, even in public and in front of cameras,” it added.

“He regrets the incident.”

The Dalai Lama remains the universally recognized face of the Tibetan autonomy movement.

But the global spotlight he enjoyed after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 has faded and the deluge of invitations to talk to world leaders and Hollywood stars has dwindled, partly because the aging leader has cut back his arduous travel schedule, but also because China’s growing economic and political influence.