Three Chinese Firms End Deals With Mbappé After Mao Remark

Kylian Mbappé’s contracts with three major Chinese consumer goods companies are ending. The decisions follow a video of the soccer star making a comment that many in China interpreted as a reference to Mao Zedong.

Dongpeng, Mengniu, and Milkground announced the terminations on Tuesday. Dongpeng is a beverage maker, Mengniu is a dairy giant, and Milkground is a cheese maker. Each company issued a statement with nearly identical wording. They said they oppose any words or actions that hurt national sentiment. The firms did not provide a detailed account of the specific incident that triggered the moves.

The announcements came after a clip circulated on X. The video appeared to show Mbappé being interviewed before appearing on the French online talk show The Bridge. When asked about his favorite meme, Mbappé referenced a video of a man he identified as a Chinese dictator. The clip then showed an altered image of Mbappé’s face on the body of Mao Zedong.

Mbappé’s face has appeared in Chinese advertisements for months. His campaigns have spanned subway stations and elevators in residential buildings. One commercial for Dongpeng features him delivering a slogan in Chinese. An ad for Mengniu shows him alongside Lionel Messi.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on the situation on Tuesday. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated that words and actions hurting the feelings of the Chinese people will meet joint opposition from all sectors of Chinese society. The social media platform RedNote also released a statement. It noted that its content partnership with Mbappé had ended on Dec. 31, 2024. RedNote said it would remove related promotional materials and expressed opposition to conduct that hurts national sentiment.

Mbappé’s account on RedNote stopped accepting new followers on Tuesday. Hashtags regarding the broken partnerships topped the trending list on Weibo. Users expressed anger at the remarks or urged the player not to visit China. Representatives for Mbappé did not immediately respond to requests for comment.