Dalai Lama Apologizes Over Video of Him Asking Young Boy to ‘Suck’ His Tongue

The Dalai Lama spoke out after social media cringed at a video of the spiritual leader telling a young boy to “suck” his tongue.

The interaction occurred last month at a M3M Foundation event in India. In the video, the young boy asks to hug the Dalai Lama who says yes. He then points to his cheek which the boy kisses and then his lips and the boy does the same.

“And suck my tongue,” the 87-year-old spiritual leader finally said as he stuck out his tongue and others around him laughed.

The footage caused a mix of outrage and confusion on social media.

In a statement released on Monday on behalf of the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile for decades, the interaction was described as teasing, but the Dalai Lama apologized and claimed he regretted what happened. The statement makes no specific mention of the “tongue” line. It simply acknowledges that a video of a young boy recently asking the Dalai Lama for a hug has been “circulating” on social media and says the Dalai Lama apologizes for the “hurt” his “words” caused.

“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,” the statement read. “His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident.”

Watch above via CNN.