Beijing (AFP) – Kylian Mbappe struggled to dissipate anger on Chinese social media on Wednesday despite apologising for his comments on Mao Zedong that cost him several commercial deals in the huge market. Mocking Mao remains strictly taboo 50 years after the former leader’s death, and Mbappe has been dropped by several Chinese brands while state television has scrapped broadcasts of the Spanish league.
The Real Madrid player apologised on Tuesday for saying that the funniest internet meme involving him was of his face photoshopped onto “some guy — I think he’s a Chinese dictator,” an apparent reference to Mao. Mbappe’s original joke was not reposted — or had been scrubbed — from China’s tightly-controlled social media. State media omitted any references to Mao, stating instead that the footballer had made “inappropriate remarks concerning China.”
However, the footballer continued to face a torrent of criticism from Chinese users on Wednesday. “His remarks were hurtful toward China and the Chinese people, so they cannot be translated,” wrote one user on the social media platform Weibo. Meanwhile, the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu had frozen Mbappe’s account, where he has over a million followers, preventing him from gaining any new ones. A similar action was taken 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.”
Some Chinese media reports indicated that global brands like Dior and Hublot had removed their Mbappe-related content on Weibo. An AFP search on Dior and Hublot’s Weibo page with Mbappe’s Chinese name produced no results. Offline, the Mbappe brand appeared to be scrubbed from stores as well. When AFP visited the Adidas flagship store in Beijing’s Sanlitun shopping district, Real Madrid jerseys were available for sale, but none bearing Mbappe’s name.
Mbappe merchandise, including unofficial jerseys, beanies, and caps, remains available on the retail app Taobao. Chinese state media have previously praised Mbappe as a “footballing sensation” and “talent,” with the striker well-loved by fans in the country. His face is plastered on billboards, on electrolyte drinks, and across social media. Additionally, Mbappe is sometimes affectionately referred to as “Guigui,” meaning “turtle” in Chinese, for his resemblance to a character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.
© 2024 AFP
