Mbappé Dropped by Two Chinese Sponsors After Mao 'Dictator' Remark

Drinks company Dongpeng and Mengniu, China's largest dairy producer, have both severed ties with French football star Kylian Mbappé after a video circulated online in which the 27-year-old Real Madrid forward appeared to joke that the funniest internet meme he had seen was of his face digitally placed onto that of "some guy – I think he's a Chinese dictator." The remark was widely interpreted as a reference to Mao Zedong, China's founding leader who died in 1976. In China, jokes about Mao are considered deeply disrespectful and remain a social taboo.

Dongpeng, which had featured AI-generated images of Mbappé drinking its sports drinks during this year's FIFA World Cup, announced on Tuesday it was ending all cooperation with the player "with immediate effect," citing a "zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments." Mengniu issued a near-identical statement, saying the company "firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people."

The story rapidly became the top-trending topic on Chinese social media platform Weibo, with users calling Mbappé's words "extremely serious" and "completely unacceptable." Football outlet Dongqiudi also condemned the remarks as "offensive to China and the Chinese people."

In September, Mbappé had addressed a similar meme in an interview with French sports newspaper L'Equipe, saying that being compared to figures "who murder others, or who have brought misery to millions upon millions of people" was uncomfortable. The furore erupted just one day after Mbappé lost the Ballon d'Or to Harry Kane.