French football superstar Kylian Mbappé has issued a formal apology after remarks apparently referencing former Chinese leader Mao Zedong as a dictator triggered public outrage and led multiple Chinese companies to cut commercial ties with him.
“My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world,” Mbappé said in a statement released Tuesday. He added that he offered his sincere apologies to everyone affected, emphasizing that causing offense was never his intention and expressing deep respect for the Chinese people and their history.
The controversy emerged after a video clip circulated on X showing Mbappé being interviewed ahead of an appearance on the French online talk show “The Bridge.” When asked about his favorite meme of himself, the national team captain recalled a clip made by a fan featuring someone he believed was a “Chinese dictator.” The video then displayed an edited image overlaying Mbappé’s face onto the blue-suited body of Mao Zedong, the founding leader of Communist China. ⚽️ sign up for THE beautiful game by sports ⚽️.
Online football culture frequently uses autocratic imagery in jokes about Mbappé, with fans whimsically labeling him a dictator due to his perceived influence over teammates and club management. However, the reference caused significant offense among Chinese audiences, where Mbappé’s image has been widely displayed on promotional advertisements ranging from subway networks to residential elevators.
Following the online fallout, corporate sponsors in China rapidly detached themselves from the player. Beverage company Dongpeng, dairy giant Mengniu, and cheese producer Milkground each issued separate statements on Tuesday announcing the termination of their endorsement contracts with Mbappé, declaring firm opposition to “any words and actions that hurt national sentiment.”
In prior commercial campaigns, Mbappé had headlined major promotional pushes across China for products including electrolyte beverages and dairy goods, even reciting slogan lines in Chinese for Dongpeng and co-starring alongside Argentine icon Lionel Messi in Mengniu advertisements.
Government authorities and social media networks in China also reacted to the incident. Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated during a press briefing that actions and statements damaging the feelings of the Chinese public would naturally face collective opposition across society. Meanwhile, social media platform RedNote confirmed that its promotional partnership with Mbappé had concluded on December 31, 2024, adding that it would scrub remaining marketing materials and opposing any conduct hurting national sentiment. Mbappé’s RedNote account was subsequently blocked from gaining new followers on Tuesday. Saying in a separate statement that the company had a content partnership with Mbappé that ended on December 31, 2024, and that it would “remove related promotional mat, social media platform RedNote joined the criticism. There were comments criticizing the soccer star, on Chinese social media.
The issue quickly dominated public discussion across major online platforms in China, where hashtags regarding the brand cancellations topped trending lists on Weibo alongside widespread calls from fans to boycott the player.
