Chinese Brands Drop Kylian Mbappé After Mao Meme Clip
CCTV suspended La Liga coverage, and Dongpeng Beverage, Mengniu, and Milkground ended their deals with the Real Madrid striker following a viral interview segment.
By Pedro Salazar ·
Kylian Mbappé has lost three major Chinese beverage and dairy sponsors after a video clip of him describing a meme of Mao Zedong went viral. The French striker called the late Chinese leader a dictator in the footage, triggering a rapid commercial and media response from Beijing.
The controversy began with a segment from the French program The Bridge. In the clip, Mbappé identified a meme featuring his face on Mao's body as the funniest one he had seen. He referred to Mao as some guy who he thought was a Chinese dictator. Reuters reported it could not independently verify the video.
China's state broadcaster CCTV suspended all La Liga coverage and matches involving Mbappé on Oct. 26. The network also pulled advertisements featuring the player. By Oct. 27, his accounts on Xiaohongshu and Weibo were muted, according to Renmin Ruiping, the online commentary platform of People's Daily. As of Oct. 28, neither the broadcast suspension nor the account restrictions had been lifted.
The financial fallout was immediate. Dongpeng Beverage, Mengniu, and cheese maker Milkground announced the termination of their partnerships with the Real Madrid star. Dongpeng's sports drink brand Bushuila had only named Mbappé its ambassador in April. On and Dior reportedly removed Chinese promotional content featuring him, though neither company announced a global end to the contracts.
Mbappé apologized in Chinese, French, and English on X on Oct. 27. He admitted his comments were ill-judged and hurt Chinese communities worldwide. La Liga issued a statement expressing deep regret, clarifying that the player's personal views did not represent the league's position.
CCTV warned on Oct. 27 that it would judge Mbappé by his actions rather than just his words. An unnamed representative from China Media Group said the league and the player needed to mend their ways. People's Daily argued that celebrities who offend a market's history become liabilities for brands.
Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the ministry was aware of the reports. He stated that words and actions hurting Chinese people's feelings would face opposition from all sectors of society. The incident pushed four Mbappé-related topics into Weibo's top 10 searches on Oct. 27.
Source: CNBC
