China has acknowledged soccer star Kylian Mbappé's apology for comments seen as disrespectful to Mao Zedong, the founding leader of Communist China BANGKOK -- China's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it has taken soccer star Kylian Mbappé's apology “seriously” for comments considered to be disrespectful of Mao Zedong, the founding leader of Communist China, as the fallout over the issue continues. Mbappé faced a backlash Tuesday over comments he made in an online interview, losing brand deals with at least three different Chinese companies. Beverage maker Dongpeng, dairy giant Mengniu and cheese maker Milkground said in similarly worded statements that they were ending agreements with the star forward, each saying they oppose “any words and actions that hurt national sentiment.” “We take seriously the apology he has made,” said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun in a daily press briefing Wednesday.
It remains to be seen whether Mbappé’s apology will help him regain the brand deals or other businesses he lost Tuesday. His team’s games remained unavailable to viewers in China Wednesday. In 2019, Chinese state television ceased broadcasting NBA games after then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.
China Media Group also said that it has suspended broadcasts of matches in the Spanish league and other games featuring the French player and demanded an apology from La Liga, Mbappé and his club, Real Madrid. Mbappé issued an apology Tuesday, saying, “My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world.” “I apologize to everyone my words have upset,” Mbappé said in a statement. I have deep respect for the Chinese people and their history, and I am sincerely sorry.” On Tuesday, Spanish league president Javier Tebas quickly issued a public apology and stressed La Liga’s commitment to preserving its partnerships with China.
Real Madrid apologized later on Wednesday, joining Mbappé in expressing regret over the player’s remarks and reiterating its respect for the Chinese people. CMG said it received the apology from Real Madrid, without adding further comment. Earlier, it demanded a formal apology, saying the club’s stance that a player was entitled to his personal opinion was unacceptable.
In a video clip, Mbappé is asked about his favorite meme of himself, and the soccer star replies that it was “a video someone made of a guy … I think he was a Chinese dictator” before the video shows an altered image depicting Mbappé's face on the blue-suited body of Mao Zedong. Soccer fans online jokingly call the star — who's said to overshadow many of his teammates and even the teams he plays on — a dictator, and memes showing him as Mao or other autocratic leaders are widely circulated. Mao Zedong was a revolutionary who led the Communist Party during its crucial early days, winning a civil war against the ruling Nationalist Party in China, and then founding the modern-day People’s Republic of China.
Mao is revered by many, even today. However, he left behind a complex legacy of authoritarian rule, having led campaigns, like the 1959-63 Great Leap Forward and the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, which killed an estimated 31 million people through starvation and persecution. But China's online censorship apparatus meant that even though news about Mbappé’s lost brand deals was trending Tuesday, not everyone knew what he said.
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