Chinese brands drop Kylian Mbappé after alleged Mao remark
sportsOct 27, 20262237
Kylian Mbappé was dropped on Tuesday by two major Chinese companies, Dongpeng Beverage and Mengniu, after a video circulated appearing to show the France captain joking that a meme of his face had been photoshopped onto “some guy, I think he’s a Chinese dictator,” an apparent reference to Mao Zedong. Dongpeng and Mengniu each said they have a zero-tolerance policy toward behaviour that offends national sentiments and announced immediate termination of their cooperation with Mbappé. Adverts using AI-generated images of Mbappé drinking a Dongpeng sports drink ran in China during this year’s World Cup, and Mbappé is popularly nicknamed “Guigui” in China because of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meme. AFP Fact Check said the authenticity of the video could not immediately be verified. Dongpeng’s announcement became a top-trending topic on Weibo and Chinese football outlet Dongqiudi said the remarks were “offensive to China and the Chinese people.” The backlash came a day after Mbappé lost the Ballon d’Or to Harry Kane, and follows a pattern of sponsors cutting ties with global stars who comment on politically sensitive topics in China.
