Nico Paz 💎 Argentina is blessed

For those that don’t understand the whole scandal surrounding Kylian Mbappé and China, here’s the full story. It started with a clip from the French online show/podcast “The Bridge.” They asked Mbappé about his favorite meme of himself. He said something along the lines of the funniest one being a video of a guy — “I think he was a Chinese dictator” — with his face photoshopped on it, and that he even shares it with his friends for laughs. The clip then cut to the actual meme: Mbappé’s face stuck on Mao Zedong in that famous blue suit. In China, Mao isn’t just some historical figure you joke about. He’s the founding leader of the People’s Republic (ruled from 1949 until he died in 1976), and any lighthearted or disrespectful talk about him is a major taboo. Calling him a “dictator,” even casually while laughing about a meme, crossed a line for a lot of people. The clip spread fast on Chinese social media, and the backlash was immediate and heavy. On Tuesday (27 October), three big Chinese brands cut ties with him straight away: Dongpeng (the sports/electrolyte drink company whose bottles and ads featured him heavily, including AI versions during the World Cup), Mengniu (one of the country’s biggest dairy companies), and Milkground (a major cheese producer). All of them put out near-identical statements saying they have zero tolerance for anything that hurts national sentiment or the feelings of the Chinese people, and ended their deals with immediate effect. It didn’t stop at the brands. State broadcaster CCTV / China Media Group suspended La Liga broadcasts and matches involving Mbappé, pulled his ads and related content, and wiped posts. His accounts on platforms like Weibo and Xiaohongshu (RedNote) got muted or had promotional stuff removed. There were also reports of other companies quietly taking down posts. China’s Foreign Ministry basically said words and actions that hurt Chinese people’s feelings will be opposed by society. La Liga itself issued an apology, with president Javier Tebas distancing the league from the comments and saying one player’s words shouldn’t damage the relationship with Chinese fans. Mbappé quickly put out a statement in French, Chinese, and English: “During a recent interview, I reacted to an image of myself. My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world. I apologise to everyone my words have upset. This was absolutely not my intention. I have deep respect for the Chinese people and their history, and I am sincerely sorry.” That’s why Chinese people are “cancelling” anything to do with his name right now and why the brand deals disappeared overnight. In that market, respect for certain historical figures isn’t optional if you want to keep the commercial side of things.