BEIJING (AP) – French football star That of Kylian Mbappé The face appears in advertisements across China, from subway stations to elevators, but now at least three companies are cutting ties with the national team captain after he made 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 in similar statements on Tuesday that they were ending their deals with the group. soccer stareach declaring to be opposed to “any word or action likely to harm national sentiment”.
The companies did not say what prompted their decisions, but they released their statements after a clip that appeared to show Mbappé interviewed before participating in the French online talk show “The Bridge” broadcast on X.
In the video, Mbappé is asked about his favorite meme of himself, and the soccer star replies that it was “a video that someone made of a guy…I think he was a Chinese dictator” before the video shows an edited image depicting Mbappé’s face on the blue-suited body of Mao Zedong.
Football fans online jokingly call the star – who is said to overshadow many of his teammates and even the teams he plays on – a dictator, and memes depicting him as Mao or other autocratic leaders are widely shared.
The Associated Press was unable to reach Mbappé’s representatives for comment.
Chinese Foreign Ministry 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 common 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 Mbappé that ended on December 31, 2024 and that it would “remove associated promotional materials.” He also expressed his opposition to “any conduct that harms national sentiment.”
Mbappé’s account on RedNote was not accepting new subscribers on Tuesday.
Mbappé has featured in advertising campaigns in China for products ranging from electrolyte drinks to milk and cheese. In an advertisement for Dongpeng, Mbappé delivers a slogan in Chinese; in an advertisement for Mengniu, he appears alongside Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi.
On Chinese social networks, several comments criticizing the football star have already been published.
The hashtags “Dongpeng ends partnership with Mbappé” and “Several brands end partnership with Mbappé” topped the Weibo trending list. “Football fans boycott Mbappé” was also trending, with some users expressing anger at his comments or telling him not to come to China.
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Associated Press video producer Olivia Zhang contributed to this report from Beijing.
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