{"id":1779,"date":"2026-10-27T13:30:48","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T13:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/27\/mbappe-apologises-for-mao-zedong-comment-after-chinese-sponsors-drop-him\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T13:30:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T13:30:48","slug":"mbappe-apologises-for-mao-zedong-comment-after-chinese-sponsors-drop-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/27\/mbappe-apologises-for-mao-zedong-comment-after-chinese-sponsors-drop-him\/","title":{"rendered":"Mbappe apologises for Mao Zedong comment after Chinese sponsors drop him"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mbappe<\/p>\n

Kylian Mbappe apologised on Tuesday after the Real Madrid star was dropped by major Chinese brands for apparently joking about Mao Zedong in a video that has gone viral.<\/p>\n

There were also signs of broader repercussions, with state-run The Paper reporting that public television was suspending broadcasts of matches from Spain\u2019s La Liga.<\/p>\n

The offending video shows Mbappe saying that the funniest internet meme he had seen involving him was of his face photo-shopped onto that of \u201csome guy \u2014 I think he\u2019s a Chinese dictator\u201d.<\/p>\n

This was an apparent reference to a meme of Mbappe superimposed on an image of Mao.<\/p>\n

The authenticity of the video could not immediately be verified by AFP Fact Check.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world. I apologise to everyone my words have upset,\u201d French forward Mbappe said in a statement in French, Chinese and English.<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s La Liga also apologised, saying it \u201cdeeply regrets the offence that Kylian Mbappe\u2019s recent comments have caused among Chinese fans. These comments were made in a personal capacity and do not represent La Liga.\u201d<\/p>\n

In China, jokes about Mao, the country\u2019s founding leader who died in 1976 \u2014 and whose drastic policies are also blamed by historians for mass starvation and millions of deaths \u2014 remain taboo.<\/p>\n

Beverage giant Dongpeng, which during this year\u2019s World Cup ran adverts with AI-generated images of Mbappe consuming its sport drink, said it was terminating all cooperation with the France captain.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments,\u201d Dongpeng said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Mengniu, China\u2019s largest dairy producer, and cheesemaker Milkground also said that they were cutting ties with Mbappe, who until now was hugely popular among Chinese fans with millions of social media followers.<\/p>\n

\u201cDongpeng Beverage ends cooperation with Mbappe\u201d was the top-trending topic on Chinese social media site Weibo with 430 million views.<\/p>\n

One Weibo user said the \u201cextremely serious wrong remarks\u2026 crossed the red line\u201d and others urged Dongpeng to remove Mbappe\u2019s image from their bottles.<\/p>\n

Dongqiudi, one of China\u2019s biggest online football outlets, said Mbappe\u2019s remarks were \u201coffensive to China and the Chinese people\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Furore \u2013<\/h2>\n

In an interview with French sports newspaper L\u2019Equipe, the 27-year-old Mbappe in September addressed a previous meme depicting him as a military dictator.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a part of it that\u2019s funny\u2026 but there is another part that\u2019s a bit less funny because of the damage such people have caused throughout history,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s foreign ministry said it was aware of the reports regarding Mbappe, who on Monday finished runner-up to English forward Harry Kane in the Ballon d\u2019Or award for the world\u2019s best player.<\/p>\n

\u201cWords and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with unanimous rejection from all sectors of Chinese society,\u201d spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular briefing.<\/p>\n

State media outlet The Paper cited sources at the state broadcaster saying that CCTV has suspended all broadcasts of La Liga matches, and removed all advertisements involving Mbappe.<\/p>\n

On the CCTV website, La Liga matches this weekend were still on its online viewing schedule.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Drawing China\u2019s ire \u2013<\/h2>\n

Global sports stars who have commented on sensitive topics such as Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong have previously caused controversy in China and been dumped by sponsors.<\/p>\n

China suspended sponsorship deals with the NBA while the state broadcaster pulled NBA games off Chinese television for a year in October 2019.<\/p>\n

This followed Houston Rockets executive Daryl Morey tweeting \u201cFight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong\u201d, referring to protests Beijing called separatist and seditious.<\/p>\n

Adam Zhang, founder of the Beijing-based sports consultancy firm Key-Solution Sports Consulting, speaking before Mbappe apologised, said a rapid response was needed to quell the growing crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crucial to make a sincere statement. The sooner, the better,\u201d Zhang told AFP.<\/p>\n

Fans made their feelings clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to really enjoy watching Mbappe play on the pitch,\u201d Zhang Jingqi, 30, who works at a mall in Beijing, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut ever since this news broke yesterday I have lost that admiration, sorry to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

AFP<\/p>\n

\n

The post Mbappe apologises for Mao Zedong comment after Chinese sponsors drop him<\/a> appeared first on Vanguard News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source: <\/p>\n

Vanguard News<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kylian Mbappe apologised on Tuesday after the Real Madrid star was dropped by major Chinese brands for apparently joking about Mao Zedong in a video that has gone viral. There… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1780,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}