The Dalai Lama’s extensive interview to the BBC has stirred some controversy. The Buddhist monk — arguably the most famous refugee in the world — spoke against the increasing number of African refugees and migrants in Europe. He said US president Donald Trump was lacking in “moral principle” and that the next Dalai Lama, if she is female, must be attractive.
“If female Dalai Lama comes, then (she) should be more attractive,” he said. If not, he made a distorted face and said people would prefer not to see that face.
The Dalai Lama said if “they had the opportunity to ask and spend money on make up, they must do something.”
The monk did not seem to see why this remark would be offensive and how women could take issue with being judged or taken seriously based on their physical appearance.
He made similar remarks in 2015, where he told the news channel that a female Dalai Lama must be attractive, “otherwise not much use.”
His “Europe for Europeans” remark from the same interview was also criticised for being racist and Islamophobic.
The BBC journalist says she was criticised for “stirring controversy” with this interview, but that she had simply asked questions a journalist would. “His answers are his answers. He chose to say what he said,” she said.