Chinese brands cut ties with Kylian Mbappé over Mao ‘dictator’ comments

The Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu also distanced itself from Mbappé, saying its contract with him had ended after he appeared in a 2024 ad for the platform that went viral. On Tuesday, a note on Mbappé’s Xiaohongshu account, which had more than a million followers, said it had been suspended “for violating community guidelines.”

The companies did not specify Mbappé’s missteps, but the statements came after a clip circulated widely on social media Monday showing an interview last spring with the French online talk show “The Bridge.”

Mbappé is often depicted jokingly online as a dictator because of his outsize presence on and off the field. Fans have created memes comparing him to a number of authoritarian historical figures, including Mao.

In the clip, Mbappé was asked which meme was his favorite.

“A video someone made of a guy… I think he was a Chinese dictator,” he said. The clip then shows Mbappé’s face superimposed on an image of Mao, whom Mbappé did not mention by name.

His comments drew fury in China, where he was accused of insulting a country that has been a lucrative source of income for him.

“Words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with a collective boycott by all sectors of Chinese society,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Tuesday at a regular briefing in Beijing.

Foreign athletes have run afoul of Chinese sensitivities in the past, sometimes with profound economic consequences for major sports leagues. NBA games were largely suspended from Chinese broadcast for years in 2019 after a Houston Rockets manager expressed support for anti-government protests in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong, and in 2023 former NBA star Dwight Howard drew controversy when he referred to the Beijing-claimed island of Taiwan as a country.

According to a commentary Tuesday by Global Times, a state-backed nationalist tabloid, sporting events and advertisements involving Mbappé have also been suspended from broadcasting.

“Mbappé is not an isolated case. He has now paid the price, and deservedly so,” the commentary said. “His experience should serve as a clear red line for all foreign public figures seeking to enter the Chinese market.”

After reports that broadcasts of the Spanish league, where Mbappé plays for Real Madrid, had been suspended in China, the league distanced itself from the remarks.

“We deeply regret” the comments “that have caused discomfort and offense in China,” La Liga President Javier Tebas said in a post on social media. “We cannot allow an individual’s action to tarnish” La Liga and its clubs’ relationship with China, Tebas said, adding that it was working with its partners in China to “overcome the situation.”

In his own apology, also posted to social media, Mbappé said that “during a recent interview, I reacted to an image of myself. My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world.”

He added: “I apologize to everyone my words have upset. This was absolutely not my intention. I have deep respect for the Chinese people and their history, and I am sincerely sorry.”