Chinese Brands Drop Kylian Mbappé After Video Calling Mao Zedong a Dictator; He Apologizes

Chinese brands including Dongpeng Beverage, Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy and cheese maker Milkground said Tuesday they were ending ties with France captain Kylian Mbappé after an online video in which he apparently called Mao Zedong a dictator. The 27-year-old Real Madrid forward was speaking about internet memes that portray him as an authoritarian figure. Dongpeng, in a Weibo statement, and Mengniu said in similarly worded announcements that they have zero tolerance for words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people, and they ended all cooperation immediately. Jokes about Mao, China's founding leader who died in 1976, are considered disrespectful there. Dongpeng had run AI-generated images of Mbappé in adverts during this year's World Cup. La Liga apologized and distanced itself from his remarks. Mbappé then apologized to everyone his words had upset, calling his comment ill-judged.

The Guardian and NBC News, on the left, both carry the company statements and Mbappé's apology. The Guardian's headline leads with the apology, notes the video only appears to show the remark, and adds that Mao jokes are a social taboo and that Mbappé's fans call him Guigui. NBC's headline stresses memes and fury, and its text casts the episode as a clash with fervent Chinese nationalism and sensitivities little understood abroad, with La Liga's apology featured. Newsmax, on the right, leads with the break itself. Its headline says the remark was about a Chinese dictator, it counts at least three companies, and it stresses ads in subway stations and elevators. The portion available does not mention the apologies, La Liga or the nationalism framing. All agree on the remark and Tuesday's terminations. ESPN's coverage resembles Newsmax's, while the Yahoo Sports item covers a different topic.