French football star Kylian Mbappe has apologised after a joke about a social media meme depicting him as former Chinese leader Mao Zedong sparked widespread anger in China, leading to the withdrawal of commercial partnerships and suspension of Spanish league broadcasts.
Mbappe described his comment as “ill-judged” and said he was “sincerely sorry” after the controversy spread across Chinese social media.
The backlash also prompted his club, Real Madrid, and Spanish football league La Liga to issue apologies, as Chinese companies began cutting ties with the forward.
China Media Group, which owns state broadcaster CCTV, also suspended broadcasts of La Liga matches, although it has yet to announce when coverage will resume.
The controversy began after a video emerged of Mbappe joking about a meme that superimposed his face on the image of Mao, who founded the People’s Republic of China and remains a highly revered figure in the country.
Although the footballer did not mention Mao by name, the joke was widely interpreted in China as disrespectful to the former leader.
China’s Foreign Ministry said words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people would attract opposition from different sections of society.
However, the BBC reported that many Chinese social media users were unable to establish exactly what Mbappe had said because references to Mao and the controversial meme were being avoided or censored online.
Some users reportedly shared the video with blurred images and removed references, while others used indirect descriptions such as “the person on the 100 yuan note” to identify Mao.
The controversy also exposed differences in how Mao is viewed inside and outside China. While he remains a revered figure in the country, his rule is associated internationally with the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, periods marked by mass famine, political purges and widespread suffering.
Despite Mbappe’s apology, anger continued among some Chinese users, with several arguing that the statement was insufficient.
The BBC reported that the footballer’s Chinese social media account on Weibo was also restricted from gaining new followers following the controversy.
However, reactions outside China were different, with some Chinese users on platforms such as X defending Mbappe and criticising the pressure that led to his apology.
The incident has drawn attention to the influence of China’s tightly controlled internet environment on public debate, as well as the commercial risks international sports personalities face when controversies arise in the country’s large consumer market
