Chinese Brands End Mbappé Deals After Mao Joke Backlash
WHO:
PBS - The China Football Association demanded that Real Madrid and Mbappé issue a public, formal apology.
PBS - China Media Group demanded an apology from Mbappé and Real Madrid.
PBS - La Liga said Mbappé’s comments were made in a personal capacity and did not represent the league.
NY Post - Kylian Mbappé issued an apology over his remark about Mao Zedong.
ABC News - French soccer star Kylian Mbappé, captain of the French national team, was the subject of the controversy.
ABC News - Dongpeng, a beverage maker; Mengniu, a dairy company; and Milkground, a cheese maker, announced they were ending agreements with Mbappé.
ABC News - RedNote said it had a content partnership with Mbappé and would remove related promotional materials.
ABC News - China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun commented on the controversy.
ABC News - The Associated Press could not immediately reach Mbappé’s representatives for comment.
BBC News - The article reported that major Chinese brands dropped Mbappé amid backlash over a Mao joke.
IJR - Dongpeng and Mengniu terminated all cooperation with Mbappé.
WHAT:
PBS - The China Football Association said it had “lodged a stern protest” with Real Madrid.
PBS - China Media Group suspended broadcasts of Spanish league matches and other games featuring Mbappé, and removed advertisements featuring him.
PBS - La Liga said it would create a “communication protocol” for players and clubs to help prevent future incidents.
PBS - Mao Zedong led the Communist Party during its early years, won a civil war against the Nationalist Party, and founded the People’s Republic of China.
PBS - PBS reported that Mao’s Great Leap Forward led to a famine that killed an estimated 30 million people.
PBS - In 2019, Chinese state television stopped broadcasting NBA games after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.
IJR - A related Weibo hashtag received 430 million views.
France 24 - Mengniu identified Mbappé as a Real Madrid and France forward.
France 24 - Dongpeng said it has a “zero-tolerance policy” toward behavior that offends national sentiments and that it was “with immediate effect” terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappé.
France 24 - Mengniu described itself as China’s largest dairy producer and said it was terminating all cooperation with Mbappé “with immediate effect”; it also cited a “zero-tolerance policy” toward words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.
France 24 - AFP Fact Check could not immediately verify the authenticity of the video.
France 24 - The 27-year-old Mbappé lost the Ballon d’Or to Harry Kane.
ABC News - Dongpeng, Mengniu, and Milkground issued similarly worded statements saying they opposed “any words and actions that hurt national sentiment.”
ABC News - A video circulated on X that appeared to show Mbappé describing his favorite meme as “a video someone made of a guy ... I think he was a Chinese dictator”; it then showed an edited image of Mbappé’s face on Mao Zedong’s body.
BBC News - The article paraphrased the alleged remark as: “favourite meme” was “the one where they put my face on a Chinese dictator”.
IJR - The clip showed Mbappé calling the Mao meme “some guy -- I think he's a Chinese dictator.”
ABC News - Guo Jiakun said 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.”
ABC News - RedNote said its partnership with Mbappé had ended on Dec. 31, 2024, and that it would “remove related promotional materials.” His RedNote account was not accepting new followers.
ABC News - Hashtags about Dongpeng and several brands ending partnerships with Mbappé topped Weibo’s trending list; “Football fans boycott Mbappé” was also trending.
WHERE:
ABC News - Mbappé’s advertisements appeared across China, including in subway stations and residential-building elevators.
ABC News - The clip was associated with the French online talk show “The Bridge”; the report identified Beijing as its dateline.
WHEN:
France 24 - The article reported that Mbappé lost the Ballon d’Or to Harry Kane on Monday.
ABC News - The companies announced their decisions on Tuesday.
ABC News - RedNote said its content partnership ended on Dec. 31, 2024.
WHY:
NY Post - Mbappé apologized after the controversy over his remark about Mao Zedong.
ABC News - The company statements followed circulation of the clip, but the companies did not specify what prompted their decisions.
ABC News - The companies said they opposed words and actions that hurt national sentiment; some social-media users criticized Mbappé’s remarks, expressed anger, or told him not to come to China.
HOW:
France 24 - AFP Fact Check said it could not immediately verify the video’s authenticity.
ABC News - The clip appeared to show Mbappé being interviewed before an appearance on “The Bridge”; fans also circulated memes portraying him as Mao or other autocratic leaders.
ABC News - Mbappé had appeared in Chinese advertising for electrolyte drinks, milk, and cheese, including a Dongpeng commercial in which he delivered a Chinese slogan and a Mengniu ad alongside Lionel Messi.
(UPDATED October 28, 2026 08:03 UTC)
Kylian Mbappé apologized over a remark about a meme depicting him as Mao Zedong, after a circulating video appeared to show him calling Mao a Chinese dictator, though the clip’s authenticity had not been verified. Chinese brands Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground ended their agreements with the French soccer star, while China Media Group dropped his ads and suspended broadcasts of matches featuring him. The China Football Association lodged a stern protest with Real Madrid and demanded a formal apology, while La Liga said Mbappé spoke personally and plans a protocol to help prevent similar incidents.
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(UPDATED October 27, 2026 16:07 UTC)
Kylian Mbappé apologized over a remark about Mao Zedong as a clip appearing to show him joking about a Mao meme spread online, though its authenticity has not been verified. Chinese brands Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground announced they were ending cooperation with the French soccer star, while RedNote said it would remove promotional materials tied to its partnership. The controversy drew widespread attention on Chinese social media, where a related Weibo hashtag received 430 million views.
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(UPDATED October 27, 2026 15:05 UTC)
Kylian Mbappé apologized for a remark about Mao Zedong after a video appeared to show the French soccer star joking about a meme depicting him as the Chinese leader, though the clip’s authenticity could not be immediately verified. Chinese brands Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground ended their agreements with Mbappé, citing opposition to words and actions that hurt national sentiment, while RedNote said it would remove promotional materials tied to its partnership with him. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson said remarks that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people would draw opposition, as criticism of Mbappé and calls for a boycott spread on social media.
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(UPDATED October 27, 2026 10:06 UTC)
Major Chinese brands Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground are ending their agreements with French soccer captain Kylian Mbappé after a clip circulated appearing to show him joking about a meme depicting him as Chinese leader Mao Zedong. Dongpeng and Mengniu cited zero tolerance for words or actions that hurt national sentiment, while social media users voiced anger and called for a boycott. The video’s authenticity has not been verified, and RedNote says its partnership with Mbappé has ended and it will remove related promotional materials.
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(UPDATED October 27, 2026 09:08 UTC)
Three Chinese brands—beverage maker Dongpeng, dairy company Mengniu, and cheese maker Milkground—have ended agreements with French soccer captain Kylian Mbappé, saying they oppose words and actions that hurt national sentiment. The decisions followed a circulating video that appeared to show Mbappé describing a meme of himself as Mao Zedong as his favorite, prompting online criticism and calls to boycott him. RedNote said its partnership with Mbappé had ended and that it would remove promotional materials, while China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said remarks that hurt Chinese people’s feelings would draw opposition.