Lady Gaga, known for songs such as Bad Romance and Born This Way, chatted with the Dalai Lama on topics including generosity to the poor and mental health, according to video of the event. China considers the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet into exile in India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, to be a dangerous “splittist”, or separatist. The Dalai Lama says he only wants genuine autonomy for his remote homeland.

“There is a broad consensus internationally about what kind of person the Dalai Lama is and what he does internationally,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a regular briefing. 

“After the relevant incident happened, if you look at comments on the Chinese Internet, their anger has welled up,” he added, referring to Lady Gaga’s meeting. Lady Gaga has not remarked on the blowback from internet users on her social media accounts. Reuters could not immediately reach a representative for comment.

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