French Football Star Kylian Mbappe Dropped by Chinese Brands for Joking About Mao Zedong
Kylian Mbappe, the French football star, has been dropped by three major Chinese brands after a video surfaced of him joking about Mao Zedong, the country's founding leader. The video, which has not been verified by AFP Fact Check, shows Mbappe saying that the funniest internet meme he had seen involving him was of his face photo-shopped onto that of "some guy - I think he's a Chinese dictator".
The comment is seen as a reference to a meme of Mbappe superimposed on an image of Mao, who died in 1976 and whose policies are blamed for mass starvation and millions of deaths. Jokes about Mao are considered taboo in China, and the country's founding leader is revered as a national hero.
Beverage giant Dongpeng, which had previously used AI-generated images of Mbappe in its World Cup adverts, has terminated its cooperation with the France captain, citing a "zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments". Mengniu, China's largest dairy producer, and cheesemaker Milkground have also cut ties with Mbappe, who was previously a popular figure among Chinese fans with millions of followers on social media.
The backlash against Mbappe has been intense, with state-run The Paper reporting that public television has suspended broadcasts of La Liga matches, and state broadcaster CCTV has removed all advertisements involving Mbappe. The hashtag "Dongpeng Beverage ends cooperation with Mbappe" was the top-trending topic on Chinese social media site Weibo, with 430 million views.
Mbappe's remarks have sparked widespread criticism, with many calling for him to apologize and remove his image from energy drink bottles. In a previous interview with French sports newspaper L'Equipe, Mbappe addressed a similar meme depicting him as a military dictator, saying that while there was a "funny" part to it, there was also a "less funny" part due to the damage caused by such leaders throughout history.
China's foreign ministry has condemned Mbappe's comments, saying that words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will be met with "unanimous rejection" from all sectors of society. The incident is the latest in a series of controversies involving global sports stars who have commented on sensitive topics such as Taiwan, Tibet, and Hong Kong.
