Major Chinese brands dropped Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe on Tuesday and state television suspended La Liga broadcasts after a video circulated in which the French star appeared to joke about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
Drinks giant Dongpeng and dairy producer Mengniu both terminated their partnerships with the 27-year-old France captain, citing zero tolerance for remarks that offend national sentiments.
“Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments,” Dongpeng said in a statement, adding that it was ending all cooperation with Mbappe “with immediate effect.”
Mengniu issued a similar statement, saying it was terminating cooperation and had “zero-tolerance policy towards any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.”
The controversy stems from a video in which Mbappe, asked about his favourite internet meme of himself, referred to one that placed his face on “some guy — I think he’s a Chinese dictator.”
The image was widely understood to depict Mao Zedong, the founding leader of the People’s Republic of China who died in 1976. Jokes about Mao remain a sensitive topic in China.
State-owned China Media Group, which oversees public broadcaster CCTV, announced it had suspended broadcasts of La Liga matches as well as advertisements involving Mbappe. The group said the decision was taken on Monday and that public apologies from Mbappe, Real Madrid and La Liga were “an absolute prerequisite” before any further discussion.
Mbappe issued an apology on Tuesday, describing his comment as “ill-judged” and saying he understood “it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world.”
La Liga Apologies
La Liga also apologised, stating that it “deeply regrets the offence that Kylian Mbappe’s recent comments have caused among Chinese fans” and noting the remarks were made in a personal capacity.
The episode follows previous cases in which international sports figures have faced commercial and broadcasting consequences in China over comments touching on sensitive political or historical subjects.
