BEIJING — French football star Kylian Mbappe's face appears in ads across China, from subway stations to elevators, but now at least three companies are cutting ties with the national team captain after he made some comments apparently referring to Mao Zedong, the founding leader of Communist China, as a dictator.
Beverage maker Dongpeng, dairy giant Mengniu and cheese maker Milkground announced Tuesday (Oct 27) in similarly worded statements that they were ending agreements with the football star, each saying they oppose "any words and actions that hurt national sentiment".
The companies did not specify what prompted their decisions, but they released their statements after a clip that appeared to show Mbappe being interviewed ahead of going on the French online talk show The Bridge circulated on X.
In the video, Mbappe is asked about his favourite meme of himself, and the football star replies that it was "a video someone made of a guy ... I think he was a Chinese dictator" before the video shows an altered image depicting Mbappe's face on the blue-suited body of Mao Zedong.
Football fans online jokingly call the star — who's said to overshadow many of his teammates and even the teams he plays on — a dictator, and memes showing him as Mao or other autocratic leaders are widely circulated.
The Associated Press was immediately unable to reach Mbappe's representatives for comment.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in response to a question about the controversy that "words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with joint opposition from all sectors of Chinese society".
Social media platform RedNote joined the criticism, saying in a separate statement that the company had a content partnership with Mbappe that ended on Dec 31, 2024, and that it would "remove related promotional materials". It likewise expressed opposition to "any conduct that hurts national sentiment."
Mbappe's account on RedNote was not accepting new followers Tuesday.
Mbappe has featured in advertising campaigns in China for products from electrolyte drinks to milk and cheese. In one commercial for Dongpeng, Mbappe delivers a slogan in Chinese; in an ad for Mengniu, he appears alongside Argentine football star Lionel Messi.
On Chinese social media, there were already several comments criticising the football star.
The hashtags "Dongpeng ends partnership with Mbappe" and "Several brands end partnerships with Mbappe" topped Weibo's trending list. "Football fans boycott Mbappe" was also trending, with some users expressing anger at his remarks or telling him not to come to China.
[[nid:749070]]
