Mbappe dropped by Chinese brands for 'offending national sentiments'

Two Chinese beverage giants, Dongpeng and Mengniu, severed ties with French football star Kylian Mbappe on Tuesday following a video that surfaced online. In the clip, the 27-year-old Real Madrid forward made a joke about Mao Zedong, China's founding leader who passed away in 1976. Such jokes are considered highly disrespectful and violate Chinese social norms.

Dongpeng, a prominent drinks manufacturer, declared in a statement that they "firmly oppose and have a zero-tolerance policy towards any behavior that offends national sentiments," and terminated all cooperation with Mbappe immediately. Mengniu, China's largest dairy producer, followed suit, citing a zero-tolerance policy against anything that "hurts the feelings of the Chinese people."

The announcements were made after a video emerged showing Mbappe joking about a meme featuring his face superimposed onto that of Mao. The authenticity of the video remains unverified. The controversy has sparked widespread outrage on Chinese social media platforms, with many users condemning the "extremely serious wrong remarks" and urging the removal of Mbappe's image from Dongpeng's energy drink packaging.

Sports enthusiasts have previously faced sponsor backlash in China after commenting on sensitive topics such as Taiwan, Tibet, and Hong Kong.