Kylian Mbappé dropped by Chinese brands for ‘offending national sentiments’

Video appears to show football star refer to Mao Zedong as a ‘dictator’ before two major brands in China end deals with France captain Video appears to show football star refer to Mao Zedong as a ‘dictator’ Kylian Mbappé was dropped Tuesday by two major brands in China after a video circulated online in which the French football superstar apparently joked about former leader Mao Zedong. In China jokes about Mao, the country’s founding leader who died in 1976, are considered disrespectful and remain a social taboo. “Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments,” drinks giant Dongpeng said in a statement, adding that “with immediate effect we are terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe”.

Adverts showing AI-generated images of the 27-year-old France captain drinking a Dongpeng sports drink were regularly shown in China during this year’s World Cup. Mengniu, China’s largest dairy producer, also cut ties with the Real Madrid forward, who until this incident was hugely popular among Chinese fans with millions of followers on social media. Mbappé is fondly nicknamed “Guigui”, the Chinese translation of “Turtle”,