Chinese brands end Mbappé partnerships amid backlash over unverified clip

Kylian Mbappé has lost commercial partners in China after an online clip apparently referring to Mao Zedong prompted a backlash. The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that beverage company Dongpeng, dairy producer Mengniu and cheese maker Milkground had announced the end of their agreements with the France captain.

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Dongpeng's announcement, reproduced by Chinese financial outlet 21 Finance, said all cooperation with Mbappé was ending immediately. The company described its opposition to conduct that damages national sentiment. Mengniu also announced an immediate end to its relationship with the player, according to a statement reported by Chinese outlet Time Finance. Both decisions were announced on October 27.

BBC News reported that the disputed footage was associated with French talk show The Bridge. In the circulating clips, the Real Madrid forward apparently discusses a favourite internet meme featuring his face on an image resembling Mao. He does not name Mao, according to the BBC. The footage remains unverified, and the date of the interview was unclear in its report.

The BBC said the original video was no longer available on the programme's YouTube channel, while screenshots had circulated on Chinese social media. Football platform Dongqiudi criticised the alleged comments in a statement on Monday night. Neither Mbappé nor The Bridge had commented at the time of the BBC report, leaving the player's response to the controversy outstanding.

The repercussions also reached social platform RedNote. AP reported that it would remove promotional material connected to Mbappé, while saying its content partnership with him had already expired on December 31, 2024. His account was not accepting new followers on Tuesday.

The companies' public explanations referred to national sentiment without explicitly identifying the disputed clip, the BBC reported. That distinction matters: the termination announcements establish the commercial decisions, but do not resolve questions about the footage itself. The BBC also reported that some social media users were asking what Mbappé had said or done because the brands' statements did not specify it.