Two Chinese Brands Drop Mbappe Over Mao Clip

Two Chinese brands, beverage maker Dongpeng and dairy producer Mengniu, announced on Tuesday, October 27, 2026 that they were terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe with immediate effect. Dongpeng said it "firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments." Mengniu said it opposes words or actions that "hurt the feelings of the Chinese people." The moves followed a video in which Mbappe appeared to joke about a meme of his face on Mao Zedong, saying "some guy -- I think he's a Chinese dictator." Dongqiudi said Monday evening the remarks were "offensive to China and the Chinese people" and "have hurt the feelings of Chinese football fans and the Chinese people." An unnamed Weibo user called them "extremely serious wrong remarks" that "crossed the red line." "Dongpeng Beverage ends cooperation with Mbappe" became Weibo's top-trending topic. AFP Fact Check could not immediately verify the video's authenticity. Jokes about Mao, who died in 1976, are a social taboo in China. Mbappe, 27, lost the Ballon d'Or to Harry Kane a day earlier. Dongpeng had run World Cup ads with AI-generated images of him drinking its sports drink.