Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe is at the centre of a controversy in China for his comments on late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, which have not only cost him several commercial deals but have also led to state television scrapping La Liga broadcasts.
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television → cost → broadcasts
The backlash highlighted the risks for athletes and brands in the lucrative Chinese market, where satire about Mao, modern China’s founding leader who ruled the country from 1949 until his death in 1976, remains a social taboo.
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who → highlight → 1976
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runt → conquer → d’Or
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4Carrick → stay → match
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problems → have → crisis
Once hailed as a footballing sensation, Mbappe was widely adored in China until the controversy caused outrage among the country’s 1.4 billion people.
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controversy → hail → people
Despite issuing an apology, the French superstar struggled to dissipate anger on Chinese social media on Wednesday.
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superstar → issue → Wednesday
Al Jazeera breaks down the row between Mbappe and China:
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Jazeera → break → Mbappe
What did Mbappe say about Mao?
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Mbappe → say → Mao
A video circulated online showed France’s 2018 World Cup winner Mbappe apparently joking about a former Chinese leader.
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Mbappe → circulate → leader
While Mbappe did not name Mao in the video, he appeared to say the funniest internet meme he had seen was of his face digitally altered onto that of “some guy – I think he’s a Chinese dictator”.
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he → name → guy
The video, which shows Mbappe preparing to go on air, was purportedly filmed in April, as verified by Al Jazeera.
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Mbappe → show → Jazeera
The clip was shared by French football podcast The Bridge and widely circulated on social media on Monday.
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clip → share → Monday
It has since been taken down.
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It → take → ?
Fans have previously created memes superimposing Mbappe’s face on images of military and political leaders to suggest that he has the power to influence decisions at the teams he plays for.
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he → create → teams
Mbappe, who has been nicknamed “the dictator” in the European press, said last month that he acknowledged the humour, but did not like being compared with figures associated with tragedies.
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he → nickname → tragedies
“There’s a part of it that’s funny.
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that → ’ → it
You can tell that, for some people, it’s all in good fun.
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it → tell → fun
But there is another part that’s a bit less funny because of the damage such people have caused throughout history,” he said in an interview with French sports newspaper L’Equipe.
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he → be → L’Equipe
The “dictator Mbappe” memes began as caricatures of his influence at Paris Saint-Germain, not statements of political allegiance.
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memes → begin → allegiance
By apparently laughing at an image depicting him as Mao, however, the France captain entered territory in which self-mockery could be perceived as an insult to a country’s founding leader.
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mockery → laugh → leader
How did China react to Mbappe’s Mao comments?
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China → react → comments
Mbappe’s original joke was not reposted – or had been scrubbed – from China’s tightly controlled social media, with state media omitting any references to Mao, saying instead that the footballer had made “inappropriate remarks concerning China”.
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footballer → reposte → China
But Mbappe has faced a torrent of criticism from China.
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Mbappe → face → China
“His remarks were hurtful toward China and the Chinese people, so they cannot be translated,” wrote one user on social media platform Weibo.
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user → translate → Weibo
Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu had meanwhile frozen Mbappe’s account, where he has at least a million followers, preventing him from gaining any new ones.
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he → freeze → ones
The same was done on the Weibo app, with a notice stating that “the user has been banned from following due to violating laws or the Weibo Community Convention”.
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user → do → laws
What has the Chinese media said about Mbappe?
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media → say → Mbappe
In China, satire or jokes about Mao are considered disrespectful.
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satire → consider → Mao
“A remark about an internet meme has triggered a backlash among his Chinese fans, threatened his lucrative commercial relationships and offered a sharp reminder of the limits of celebrity influence,” state media outlet China Daily said.
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Daily → trigger → influence
Mbappe – one of the world’s most prominent athletes – has become the latest sports star to fall foul of a faux pas in China.
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Mbappe → become → China
Many Chinese media outlets condemned Mbappe’s apparent remarks, but did not repeat them.
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outlets → condemn → them
“What did he say?
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he → say → What
Many Chinese would rather not repeat it,” the state-backed Global Times said.
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Times → repeat → it
“The message from Chinese consumers is clear: respect is not optional; one doesn’t get to profit from China while disrespecting it.
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one → get → it
Which Chinese brands have cut ties with Mbappe?
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brands → cut → Mbappe
The French football star was dropped by two major brands in China: Dongpeng and Mengniu.
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star → drop → China
Chinese drinks giant Dongpeng said on Tuesday it terminated its contract with Mbappe “with immediate effect”.
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it → say → effect
“Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments,” it said in a statement.
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it → oppose → statement
Advertisements showing AI-generated images of Mbappe drinking a Dongpeng sports drink were regularly shown in China during this year’s World Cup.
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Mbappe → show → Cup
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
