Kylian Mbappé, one of football’s biggest stars, has made an abject apology after being dropped by Chinese brands for apparently joking about the country’s former ruler Mao Zedong in an online video. Mbappé, who plays for Real Madrid and captains the French national team, is a big name in China: his face features on Chinese train station billboards and posters, as well as a range of products. He made the mistake of appearing to refer to the revered Mao in less than complimentary terms. You don’t need to be a historian to know that Mao was mad and bad, a dictator whose oppressive rule led to mass starvation, but his Communist Party successors don’t like anyone pointing this out.
The Chinese regime is anything but rational, least of all when it comes to Mao
The offending video features Mbappé saying that the funniest internet meme he has seen involving him was of his face photoshopped on to that of “some guy – I think he’s a Chinese dictator”.
This was an apparent reference to a meme of Mbappé superimposed on an image of Mao.
Cue all hell breaking loose. The beverage giant Dongpeng (AI-generated images of Mbappé consuming its sport drink featured in last summer’s World Cup) said it was terminating all agreements with the French captain. Mengniu, China’s largest dairy producer, and cheese maker Milkground also said they were cutting ties with the Real Madrid superstar.
In remarkably similar statements, the companies said they opposed “any words and actions that hurt national sentiment”. That same word salad of disapproval was used by a spokesman for China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, Guo Jiakun, who declared that “words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with joint opposition from all sectors of Chinese society.” There was also an unmistakable threat of much broader repercussions. The state-controlled digital outlet, The Paper, reported that Chinese television was halting broadcasts and matches of events involving the Spanish La Liga and Mbappé.
Mbappé’s apology came in a statement issued in French, Chinese and English – perhaps to ensure no further misunderstandings or hurt feelings. The footballer said: “My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world. I apologise to everyone my words have upset. This was absolutely not my intention. I have deep respect for the Chinese people and their history, and I am sincerely sorry.”
So much respect for Chinese history that he didn’t appear to know who Mao was, but let that pass for the moment.
Spain’s La Liga, no doubt keen to safeguard its TV business in China, was quick to join in the kowtowing. Its president, Javier Tebas issued an apology on X, saying the organisation deeply regretted the alleged comments that “have caused discomfort and offence in China”. It is all rather cringeworthy. The irony is that fans often jokingly refer to Mbappé as a dictator, because he tends to overshadow his teammates and any team he plays for. Internet memes doing the rounds frequently show him as Mao or other autocratic leaders. In an interview with the French sports newspaper L’Equipe last month, Mbappé addressed the issue of memes depicting him as a military dictator.
“There’s a part of it that’s funny…but there is another part that’s a bit less funny because of the damage such people have caused throughout history,” he said. It has all come back to bite him big time.
Rationally speaking, this controversy is a storm in a tea cup, but the Chinese regime is anything but rational, least of all when it comes to Mao. Any criticism of the country’s founding leader, who died in 1976, is out of bounds. Discussion about Mao is policed and heavily restricted in China. For added measure, jokes about the “Great Helmsman” are also frowned upon. He is revered by the ruling Communist Party and any honest assessment of his time in power – mass starvation and millions of deaths – remains taboo. Sports stars who have previously commented on what Beijing deems sensitive topics, such as Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong, have been quickly dumped by Chinese sponsors. Mbappé – and La Liga – are merely the latest to learn the hard way what doing business with China entails. Whatever else, it is advisable to steer clear of any mention of Chairman Mao.
Comments