{
  "id": 16704421,
  "title": "Mbappe dropped by Chinese brands for 'offending national sentiments'",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/27/mbappe-dropped-by-chinese-brands-for-offending-national-sentiments",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-27T04:07:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mbappe-dropped-chinese-brands-offending-040709708.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Kylian Mbappe, the France and Real Madrid striker, has been cut ties by two major Chinese brands after a video surfaced showing him making jokes about Mao Zedong. In China, jokes about the former leader are considered highly disrespectful and a social taboo. Dongpeng, a prominent drinks company, announced it was terminating all cooperation with Mbappe immediately, stating they \"firmly oppose and have a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments.\" Mengniu, China's largest dairy producer, followed suit, also ending all business ties with the football star. The announcements came after the video went viral online, featuring Mbappe joking about a meme of his face superimposed on Mao's image. The authenticity of the video has not been verified, but the incident sparked outrage on Chinese social media, with many calling the remarks \"extremely serious\" and urging Dongpeng to remove Mbappe's image from their products. Despite his previous comments on the memes, Mbappe expressed his distaste for being compared to historical figures, emphasizing he had never acted like them in his life. The controversy coincided with Mbappe's loss to Harry Kane in the Ballon d'Or award.",
  "summary": "Kylian Mbappe was dropped Tuesday by two major brands in China after a video circulated online in which the French football star apparently joked about former leader Mao Zedong.In China jokes about Mao, the country's founding leader who died in 1976, are considered disrespectful and remain a social taboo.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Mbappe dropped by Chinese brands for ‘offending national sentiments’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/27/mbappe-dropped-by-chinese-brands-for-offending-national-sentiments-16707240",
        "published": "2026-10-27T03:56:28.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Mbappe dropped by Chinese brands for 'offending national sentiments'",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/27/mbappe-dropped-by-chinese-brands-for-offending-national-sentiments-16706749",
        "published": "2026-10-27T04:27:55.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Mbappe dropped by Chinese brands for 'offending national sentiments'",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/27/mbappe-dropped-by-chinese-brands-for-offending-national-sentiments-16708261",
        "published": "2026-10-27T04:30:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "IOL",
        "title": "Chinese brands axe Mbappe over alleged Chairman Mao meme comments",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/27/chinese-brands-axe-mbappe-over-alleged-chairman-mao-meme-comments",
        "published": "2026-10-27T04:50:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}