Lady Gaga & Dalai Lama (Photo : Facebook/Lady Gaga)
Whoever is the Dalai Lama’s friend is automatically the enemy of China. The latest celebrity considered to be banned from the Asian giant is the singer of “Born This Way.”
The ban is the result of Lady Gaga meeting the exiled leader of Buddhist Tibetans to discuss yoga, reported The Guardian. She met him on Sunday before an Indianapolis conference for 19 minutes.
Among the issues the two discussed were meditation, mental health and ways to detoxify humanity. Lady Gaga posted on her Facebook page.
Beijing considers the Dalai Lama, who left and exiled himself in 1959, a “wolf in monk’s robes” because of Chinese officials’ perception that he is a separatist. China believes he wants to create a theocratic kingdom in the Himalayan region which would mean Tibet splitting from China. However, the spiritual leader said he only wants more autonomy for Tibetans from Chinese rule.
According to Apple Daily, the propaganda department of the Communist Party immediately ordered a ban on all the songs of Lady Gaga. It ordered media companies and websites in China to stop distributing Lady Gaga’s songs or uploading it.
But as of Tuesday afternoon, Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” and “Bad Romance” could still be downloaded from QQ Music and NetEase Cloud Music, music streaming sites in China. However, the report on the meeting of the two is no longer in NetEase’s website.
While Benjamin Haas, spokesperson of China’s foreign ministry, said he is unfamiliar with the American singer, he accused the Dalai Lama of visiting other countries to push for Tibetan independence.
Lady Gaga also posted photos of their meeting on her Instagram account, reported InStyle. The photos became viral with 180,000 to 400,000 likes.
