Kylian Mbappé dropped by Chinese brands over ‘dictator’ comment

Chinese brands have ended their partnerships with French football star Kylian Mbappé after a video surfaced showing him seemingly mocking Mao Zedong. In the clip, which circulated widely on social media platform X, Mbappé was asked which internet meme featuring himself he found funniest. He responded by claiming it depicted himself as "some guy — I think he's a Chinese dictator."

The Chinese public considers jokes about Mao Zedong, the country's contemporary founder, to be highly disrespectful. Beverage producer Dongpeng and dairy giant Mengniu confirmed on Tuesday that they were concluding their agreements with Mbappé, though neither explicitly cited the video as the reason for their decision. Dongpeng stated in its statement that their firm "firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behavior that offends national sentiments," while Mengniu declared that they were ending "all cooperation with Kylian Mbappé with immediate effect."

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV has suspended broadcasting matches from Spain's La Liga, according to Chinese media outlet The Paper. Mbappé, who is currently playing for Real Madrid in club football, has not yet commented on the matter at the time of publishing. The controversy emerged a day after England's Harry Kane surpassed Mbappé to win the Ballon d'Or, the most esteemed individual football award.