Protesters take aim at Melbourne comedian over Dalai Lama joke

A comedian has faced severe backlash after making jokes about the Dalai Lama, with up to 200 Buddhists protesting outside his stand-up show in South Melbourne.

A large crowd from the Buddhist Tibetan community protested outside the South Melbourne Rubber Chicken comedy pub last night as comedian Lewis Spears performed.

The group chanted, "we demand an apology," and "stop joking".

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The group has written to the Melbourne Comedy Festival demanding Lewis be banned, censored or apologise.

But Speaks has said he has zero intention of apologising.

"I'm not going to let these people scare me or intimidate me," he said.

"It is their right to protest - just as it is my right to tell jokes about people.

"I understand why they are upset. But I think they are wrong and I think it's a big overreaction.

"I'm not the villain they think I am."

The tension has stemmed from a viral social media video from a comedy set Spears had performed previously where he took aim at the Dalai Lama over the controversial video where the religious leader asked a young child to suck his tongue.

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