Kylian Mbappe Chinese sponsors have started to break their ties with the Real Madrid forward after he was accused of making comments about a viral meme showing him in the role of ex-Chinese leader Mao Zedong. The debate over the insult started when an online video appeared on Monday that purportedly had Mbappe commenting on a meme featuring his own face overlaid on Mao’s as the funniest of his sightings of him.
The remarks caused wrangling in China, where Mao still plays a major and sensitive role in history. On the social media platform Weibo, the China-based drinks maker, Eastroc Beverage, said it had terminated its partnership with the France international. The company protested against the attitude of the player that was damaging the national sentiment and confirmed that its cooperation with Mbappe will be terminated immediately. Dairy giants Mengniu and Milkground have also been reported to have ended their ties with the forward.
A comment from Mbappe’s representatives was not immediately available. It’s a controversy that follows after Mbappe spoke about the rising number of memes depicting him as a political or military leader. During an interview last month, he admitted that some of the jokes on the Web were without malicious intent, but “inappropriate” pictures showing him “as a dictator” were a sign of “deficiency of political and human awareness. China’s Foreign Ministry also had a comment on the larger question, saying those actions which offend the public would naturally be faced with opposition from various parts of Chinese society.
The repercussions reportedly have reached far beyond commercial partnerships. The state TV has suspended the broadcasting of matches and events that include La Liga and Mbappe, and commercials of the forward have been pulled, The Paper, a state-backed media outlet, reported.
