A poorly judged joke about Mao Zedong has cost French forward Kylian Mbappé his advertising ties with several Chinese companies at once, the website infohub.kz reports.
The Real Madrid player has lost partnerships with Chinese companies Eastroc Beverage and Mengniu Dairy. The reason was his remarks about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, Izvestia reports, citing the Chinese newspaper Jiefang Daily.
Dongpeng Beverage Group was among the first to announce it was ending the relationship. "The Dongpeng Beverage Group has just published a statement on the termination of cooperation with Kylian Mbappé," the publication said.
The company stressed that it opposes any actions that offend national feelings and declared zero tolerance for such behavior. The electrolyte drink brand Bushu La, part of the Eastroc group, made the same decision.
The scandal was triggered by an interview in which the footballer discussed his favorite internet memes. Chinese media noted that some of his comments were seen as insulting to China. Mbappé said his favorite meme is his own face, edited with a graphics editor and superimposed on the face of a certain "Chinese dictator."