Kylian Mbappe loses Chinese sponsors after Mao Zedong jokes
(Courtesy : LaLiga)
The striker allegedly joked about Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
Real Madrid’s French forward Kylian Mbappé was dropped by several Chinese sponsors after he allegedly made remarks against the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
According to reports, Kylian Mbappé said on the French talk program The Bridge that the meme “that makes me laugh the most, it’s the one where there’s a video of a guy, I think it’s a Chinese dictator…they put my….” as they cut to a meme of his face overlaid on a picture of Mao.
The image is a part of a persistent joke regarding the Real Madrid forward’s moniker, “the dictator,” due to his enormous football influence. Numerous memes about Mbappé have resulted from it.
However, the joke was not well received in China, where the Communist Party holds Mao in high regard as the founding father of the nation despite his violent and chaotic reign that claimed millions of lives.
According to Spanish publication Marca, Chinese beverage company DongPeng was one of several companies to pull their sponsorship of Mbappé, saying that they had “zero tolerance” for statements that hurt the national sentiments of China.
The other companies that have also terminated their financial associations with the French forward include Chinese dairy giant Mengniu and cheese company Milkground.
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On Chinese social media, a few people have shown their support for Kylian Mbappé. However, given China’s strictly regulated internet, where users are expected to follow the party and government’s line on delicate subjects, their response is uncommon.
Few subjects are as delicate as Mao, which might be the reason why companies have ended their collaborations with a well-known athlete like Mbappé so quickly.
It’s unknown when the interview first aired, and the original video isn’t accessible on the show’s YouTube channel. Mbappé does not name Mao in the unreliable videos that have been making the rounds on the internet. He claims to “use (the meme) with friends all the time.”
After Chinese football forum Dongqiudi called attention to the remarks in a statement, claiming they were “inappropriate” and “hurt the feelings of Chinese people,” the outcry seemed to begin on Monday night.
Since then, screenshots of the video and meme have rapidly proliferated on Chinese social media, where many are expressing similar opinions and even advocating for a boycott of the French striker and Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, both LaLiga and the Spanish league’s president, Javier Tebas, released statements condemning Mbappe’s alleged comments that hurt the sentiments of Chinese people.
Why did Chinese sponsors drop Kylian Mbappe?
Chinese sponsors reportedly dropped Kylian Mbappe after he allegedly joked about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong during the French talk show The Bridge.
Which Chinese sponsors ended deals with Kylian Mbappe?
Chinese beverage company DongPeng, dairy giant Mengniu and cheese company Milkground reportedly terminated their sponsorship associations with Mbappe.
Who was Mao Zedong?
He was a Chinese communist revolutionary and politician who founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
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