DALAI LAMA SAYS A FEMALE SUCCESSOR MUST BE ATTRACTIVE, OR PEOPLE WON'T WANT TO LOOK AT HER FACE
The Dalai Lama has suggested that any female that succeeds him as Buddhist leader must be attractive, despite receiving backlash for similar comments he made in 2015.
In the wide-ranging interview with the BBC, the guru made a series of additional controversial remarks touching on migration in Europe, the Chinese government and the first two years of President Donald Trump's term.
One of the more troubling comments came while discussing an interview in 2015, in which he stated that if a female was to become the next Dalai Lama, she would have to be "very attractive, otherwise not much use."
South Asia correspondent Rajini Vaidyanathan asked the Dalai Lama if he understood why the response had offended women. But rather than apologize, the Buddhist leader replied: "If [a] female Dalai Lama comes then she should be more attractive."
He added, "If [a] female Dalai Lama," then paused and pulled an unattractive face, before continuing, "I think, [people would] prefer not [to] see her, that face."
Challenged that a person's character is more important than their physical appearance, he replied, "Yes, I think both." The Dalai Lama also told the BBC that gender equality was important and that he supported women's rights and equal pay in the workplace.
The Dalai Lama also took the opportunity to hit out at President Donald Trump, lamenting his lack of moral principle and calling on the U.S. to take global responsibility.
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