Chinese brands Mengniu and Dongpeng drop Mbappé over alleged Mao remarks
Two Chinese companies, the dairy producer Mengniu and the drinks company Dongpeng, have dropped French footballer Kylian Mbappé following a backlash over comments attributed to him about Mao Zedong, the former Chinese leader.
The comments were reported by the French talk show The Bridge, where Mbappé reportedly said the meme that makes him laugh the most shows a man he thinks is a Chinese dictator. As he spoke, a meme appeared online with his face placed over an image resembling Mao. In clips circulating online, Mbappé is reported to have added, "I use it with my friends all the time."
Mengniu said it "firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people". Dongpeng said it "firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments".
The Chinese football forum Dongqiudi drew attention to the reported comments on Monday night, describing them as inappropriate and hurtful to the feelings of Chinese people. On Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that words and deeds that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people would meet opposition from Chinese society.
Mbappé made his debut for Real Madrid, the Spanish club, in August 2024. The Paper, a Chinese news outlet, has reported that CCTV, China's state broadcaster, is suspending matches from La Liga, Spain's top men's football league, amid the backlash.
