Mbappe dropped by Chinese brands for 'offending national sentiments'

Beijing: Two major Chinese brands, Dongpeng and Mengniu, terminated their cooperation with French football star Kylian Mbappe following a video where he made light of former leader Mao Zedong. Jokes about Mao, who led China from 1949 until his death in 1976, are considered highly disrespectful in China and are a social taboo. Dongpeng, a drinks company, and Mengniu, China's largest dairy producer, released statements expressing their firm opposition to any behavior that offends national sentiments and terminating all cooperation with Mbappe with immediate effect.

The announcement came after a video surfaced online depicting Mbappe joking about a meme featuring him with the face of a Chinese leader, likely Mao. The authenticity of the video could not be immediately verified. The incident sparked outrage on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, with users condemning the remarks as extremely serious and unacceptable.

One user urged Dongpeng to remove Mbappe's image from their energy drink bottles. Mbappe had previously addressed memes comparing him to historical figures, including strongmen leaders, in an interview with French sports newspaper L'Equipe, stating that while some of it was funny, others were less amusing due to the harm caused by those individuals in history.

The controversy in China unfolded a day after Mbappe lost to Harry Kane in the Ballon d'Or, the most prestigious individual football award.