Dongpeng and Mengniu drop Mbappé over video of alleged Mao joke; clip's authenticity not verified

Kylian Mbappé lost two major Chinese sponsors on Tuesday, Oct. 27, after a video spread on Chinese social media in which he appears to laugh about a meme comparing him to Mao Zedong.

Dongpeng Beverage Group and dairy producer Mengniu both announced they were ending their deals with the Real Madrid forward and France captain. Neither has said the clip is authentic. Neither has said it checked.

What the companies said

"Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments," Dongpeng said in a statement. It added that "with immediate effect we are terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe."

Mengniu, China's largest dairy producer, used nearly identical language. "Mengniu firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people," it said.

Mbappé featured in Dongpeng promotions this year, including AI-generated adverts for its Bushuila electrolyte drink. Those ads ran regularly in China during the 2026 World Cup.

The clip

In the footage, Mbappé says the meme that makes him laugh the most is one where his face is placed on "some guy," and adds "I think he's a Chinese dictator." A meme resembling an image of Mao appears on screen as he speaks. He also says he uses it with his friends.

He never says Mao's name. The original video is no longer on the YouTube channel of the French talk show The Bridge, which reportedly aired it. It is unclear when the interview was broadcast. AFP Fact Check said it could not immediately verify the video's authenticity.

Mbappé and The Bridge had not commented when the story broke.

Beijing and the Chinese media pile on

The Chinese football forum Dongqiudi, one of the country's biggest, flagged the remarks in a statement Monday night. It called them "inappropriate" and said they "hurt the feelings of Chinese people." It said it could not translate them because they were "offensive to China and the Chinese people."

Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian addressed the matter directly. "We have noted the relevant reports," he said. "Words and deeds that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with opposition from all sectors of Chinese society."

"Dongpeng Beverage ends cooperation with Mbappe" became the top-trending topic on Weibo. One user wrote that the remarks "crossed the red line." Others demanded Dongpeng strip his image from its bottles.

The Paper, a Chinese outlet, reported Tuesday that state broadcaster CCTV is suspending La Liga matches. The state-owned Global Times said CCTV's news apps no longer carry content related to Mbappé. CCTV has not been quoted explaining either step in the material reviewed for this story.

Mao's record

Mao founded Communist China in 1949 and ruled until his death in 1976. His Great Leap Forward industrialization drive caused a famine that killed tens of millions of people. The Cultural Revolution that followed was a violent purge of perceived enemies, including intellectuals, landowners, artists and rivals inside the Party.

The Chinese Communist Party still treats him as a national icon whose legacy is beyond reproach. Jokes about him remain a social taboo in China.

That is the Chinese position, stated by the ministry, the brands and the online critics: a foreign celebrity who earns money in the Chinese market owes the public respect. One Weibo comment put it as "International public figures, in particular, should show greater respect and sensitivity, as national sentiment must never be taken lightly."

Mbappé's earlier comments on dictator memes

Mbappé addressed a related meme in a September interview with L'Équipe. "There's a part of it that's funny," he said. "But there is another part that's a bit less funny because of the damage such people have caused throughout history."

He also said that being compared to people who murder others, or who brought misery to millions, was not something he felt he had earned. That is his own on-record view on dictator memes, and it predates this episode.

The meme itself is part of a broader pattern. Fans have long used his face in memes alongside historical figures, and Gulf News tied the dictator memes to his alleged strong demands inside his club. Chinese fans have also nicknamed him "guigui," meaning turtle, from a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meme.

Timing

The backlash came a day after Mbappé lost the Ballon d'Or to Bayern Munich's Harry Kane. No source links the two events.

The central fact is unresolved. If the clip is real, it is a footballer laughing at a meme about a dictator whose policies killed millions. If it is altered or misdated, two companies and a state broadcaster have acted on it anyway.

Whether Mbappé or The Bridge responds, and whether CCTV confirms its La Liga suspension, will determine how far the commercial damage spreads.