The Dalai Lama has finally broken his silence on the viral video showing him kissing a young boy and asking him to 'suck his tongue'.
The spiritual leader, 87, is facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour after the interaction with the minor which took place at a public event in northern India.
Taking place on 28 February at the Dalai Lama’s temple in Dharamshala, located in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, the event was attended by a group of school students who had just graduated from the Indian M3M Foundation.
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After addressing the crowd, the Dalai Lama called up one of the school's pupils to the stage.
The child then walked up to the microphone and asked the Dalai Lama: "Can I hug you?"
The Dalai Lama motioned to the boy to come to the platform upon which he was seated and gestured to his own cheek saying 'first here'.
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The footage then shows the boy kissing him on the cheek before giving him a hug.
The Dalai Lama then told the boy 'I think here also' and went on to kiss the child on the lips, before telling the boy: 'And suck my tongue,' as he stuck out his tongue.
The school child momentarily stuck out his own tongue before trying to move away, upon which the Dalai Lama laughed and pulled the boy in for another hug.
The interaction has since caused a storm online with thousands slamming the Dalai Lama for his inappropriate conduct.
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People have taken to social media to share their views on the matter, calling the situation 'highly disturbing', 'shameful' and 'absolutely insane'.
And now, following on from the criticism, an official statement responding to the news has been released to the Dalai Lama's 19 million followers on his Twitter account.
The statement, which was released this morning (10 April), read: "A video clip has been circulating that shows a recent meeting when a young boy asked His Holiness the Dalai Lama if he could give him a hug."
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"His Holiness wishes to apologise to the boy and his family," the tweet continues, "as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused."
The statement went on to say that the Dalai Lama 'often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way' and revealed that he had been doing so 'even in public and before cameras'.
"He regrets the incident," the statement concluded.
The tweeted statement has since received over 2.2 million views in just a few hours since it was posted
The viral video has sparked mass outrage online with many calling the spiritual leader's actions totally 'disgusting'.
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One Twitter user posted: "What the Dalai Lama did to the boy was disgusting and he should be sacked."
Another hit back at the apology, tweeting: "The boy asked a hug. You asked the boy to suck your tongue. We all heard that. Why is it missing in your 'apology'.
"And asking a boy to suck your tongue isn't 'playful' as you have written. Do you the pain of how that small boy would be thinking about this?"
A third echoed: "You didn’t just hug the boy though, you asked him to 'suck your tongue'.
"Why leave that bit out?"
Featured Image Credit: Twitter/@joostbroekersTopics: News, World News, Twitter, Viral