Kylian Mbappe was dropped Tuesday by two major brands in China after a video circulated online in which the French football star apparently joked about former leader Mao Zedong.
“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”.
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Mengniu, China’s largest dairy producer, also cut ties with the Real Madrid and France forward.
“With immediate effect our company is terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe,” Mengniu said in a statement.
“Mengniu firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people,” it added.
The announcements came after a video emerged online with Mbappe saying that the funniest internet meme he had seen was of his face photoshopped onto that of “some guy — I think he’s a Chinese dictator”.
This was an apparent reference to a meme of Mbappe superimposed on an image of Mao, one of several using the footballer’s face and other historical figures.
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The authenticity of the video could not immediately be verified by AFP Fact Check.
“Dongpeng Beverage ends cooperation with Mbappe” was the top-trending topic on Chinese social media site Weibo.
The 27-year-old Mbappe lost out to Harry Kane for the Ballon d’Or on Monday.
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