France captain Kylian Mbappé apologised on Tuesday for a joke about Mao Zedong that drew anger in China, where several companies dropped him as a partner. The Mbappé Mao Zedong apology was reported by Al Jazeera, which is the main source for the key facts in this story.
In a statement in French, Chinese and English, Mbappé said: "My comment was ill-judged and I now understand that it hurt many people in China." He cited "a deep respect for the Chinese people and their history", according to France 24.
The remark came in a video interview with the French show The Bridge, since taken down, about an internet meme of his face on "some guy, think he’s a Chinese dictator", an apparent reference to Mao, according to Al Jazeera.
Beverage firm Dongpeng and dairy firms Mengniu and Milkground said they had scrapped their partnerships with Mbappé, according to Al Jazeera. CMG, which oversees CCTV, decided to suspend broadcasts of La Liga. La Liga said it "deeply regrets the offence" caused among Chinese fans.
Xiaohongshu froze Mbappé’s account, and Weibo banned users from following it, citing violation of laws or its community convention, Al Jazeera reported.
Al Jazeera says mocking Mao, whom historians blame for millions of deaths, is taboo in China. In 2019, China suspended NBA sponsorship and pulled games from state TV after a Houston Rockets executive’s pro-Hong Kong tweet, the outlet noted.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Wednesday: "We take seriously the apology the individual concerned has made."
Sports journalist Ken Early told Euronews the controversy is unlikely to cause serious economic problems for Mbappé, despite the loss of two sponsors.
Chinese media reports say Dior and Hublot removed Mbappé content on Weibo, but AFP’s search found no results, and the brands have not responded publicly. The sources do not include a response from Real Madrid or Mbappé’s club, and it is unclear whether La Liga broadcasts or brand deals will be restored.
Al Jazeera says the apology "may not be the end of the matter". Further brand decisions, platform actions or a resumption of La Liga broadcasts have not yet been reported.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.