Mbappé Faces Major Backlash in China After Calling Mao a 'Dictator'

Overview

• A clip from the podcast The Bridge that circulated online showed Kylian Mbappé saying a meme of his face on Mao Zedong made him laugh and calling Mao a “dictator,” a remark that went viral in China.
• Three Chinese companies — Dongpeng (Eastroc Beverage), Mengniu and Milkground — announced on Tuesday that they would end partnerships with Mbappé and remove ads using his image.
• Chinese state-linked outlets reported that broadcasters limited LaLiga coverage of matches involving Mbappé and platforms such as Xiaohongshu restricted his account and removed related content, while independent confirmation of some broadcaster actions was not available.
• Beijing’s foreign ministry condemned comments that “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people,” and both Mbappé and LaLiga president Javier Tebas issued multilingual apologies describing the remark as maladroit and pledging to work with partners.
• The episode echoes past cases where foreign athletes’ remarks on sensitive Chinese topics prompted swift commercial and media reprisals and it could affect rights deals, sponsorships and club revenues depending on how long the boycott and state actions persist.