Chinese companies Dongpeng and Mengniu have terminated their commercial partnerships with Kylian Mbappé following the circulation of a video clip attributed to him that sparked widespread outrage in the country, turning a casual response about memes into a crisis threatening his sponsorship presence.
The decisions were announced on Tuesday, October 27, following escalating backlash across Chinese social media platforms at a time when the Real Madrid forward’s image was actively featured in commercial campaigns for beverage and dairy products.
The controversy originated from a clip linked to the show The Bridge, during which Mbappé was asked about the meme that made him laugh the most. He referred to a photo edit placing his face onto the body of a figure he described as a “Chinese dictator,” explaining that he shares the image with his friends.
While the French forward did not explicitly name Mao Zedong, the image associated with the clip shows his face edited over that of the founder of the People’s Republic of China, who passed away in 1976 and retains significant symbolic reverence in the country.
Beverage giant Dongpeng stated in its announcement: “We are terminating all forms of cooperation with Kylian Mbappé with immediate effect,” expressing its rejection of behaviors that offend national sentiments, while dairy company Mengniu adopted the same stance, severing ties immediately.
Neither company explicitly specified the incident in their official statements; however, the termination announcements coincided with the viral spread of the video and topped trending discussions on the Weibo platform, where users demanded the removal of the player’s image from products and advertisements.
Milkground joined the entities terminating their association with Mbappé, while the platform RedNote clarified that its sponsorship contract with him had already expired on December 31, 2024, adding that it is currently reviewing and taking down promotional materials featuring him.
The crisis carries clear commercial implications after Mbappé’s advertisements frequently appeared in Chinese public transit and infrastructure facilities; however, available reports have not disclosed the financial value of the canceled contracts or the extent of monetary losses, preventing an exact calculation of the total financial fallout.
