Mbappe Drops Out of Two Chinese Sponsors After Mao Meme Video Surfaces

Kylian Mbappe lost two major Chinese sponsors on Tuesday after a video resurfaced online showing him discussing a meme of former leader Mao Zedong. The 27-year-old France captain had been a central figure in advertising campaigns for both brands during the recent FIFA World Cup.

Dongpeng, a beverage company, announced it was ending all cooperation with Mbappe immediately. The company stated it has a zero-tolerance policy for behavior that offends national sentiments. Mengniu, China’s largest dairy producer, issued a similar termination notice, citing the same strict stance on actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.

The controversy stems from a clip where Mbappe described a viral image of his face digitally placed on Mao’s portrait as the funniest internet meme he had seen. He referred to the figure as a Chinese dictator. In China, jokes about Mao, who died in 1976, are viewed as disrespectful and remain a social taboo.

Mbappe had previously addressed a different meme depicting him as a military dictator in an interview with L’Equipe in September. He acknowledged the humor but noted that comparisons to historical figures who caused misery were less funny. He said he did not believe he had ever done anything like what those individuals did in their lives.

The branding fallout hit Mbappe a day after he finished second to Harry Kane for the Ballon d’Or. He is widely popular in China, where he is nicknamed Guigui, a reference to a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meme. Millions of followers on social media amplify his presence, making the sudden removal of his image from products a visible shift.

Dongqiudi, a major online football outlet, called the remarks offensive to China and its people. On Weibo, the news of Dongpeng ending the partnership became a top trending topic. Some users demanded that Mbappe’s image be removed from energy drink bottles, while others described his comments as crossing a red line.

This incident follows a pattern for global athletes in the Chinese market. Dwight Howard faced backlash in 2023 after calling Taiwan a country in a video with local officials. Daryl Morey, the Houston Rockets general manager, triggered a suspension of NBA sponsorship deals in China in 2019 after supporting Hong Kong protests online.