French football star Kylian Mbappe's face appears in ads across China, but now at least three companies are cutting ties with him after he made comments apparently referring to Communist leader Mao Zedong as a dictator.
Beverage maker Dongpeng, dairy giant Mengniu and cheese maker Milkground announced on Tuesday in similarly worded statements that they were ending agreements with the French national captain, each saying they oppose "any words and actions that hurt national sentiment".
The companies did not specify what prompted their decisions, but they released their statements after a clip that appeared to show Mbappe being interviewed before going on the French online talk show The Bridge circulated on X.
In the video, Mbappe is asked about his favourite meme of himself, and he 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 Mbappe's face on the body of Mao Zedong, the founding leader of Communist China.
Fans online jokingly call the Real Madrid star - who is 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.
The Associated Press was immediately unable to reach Mbappe's representatives for comment.
Social media platform RedNote joined the criticism, saying in a separate statement that the company had a content partnership with Mbappe that ended in 2024, and that it would "remove related promotional materials".
It likewise expressed opposition to "any conduct that hurts national sentiment".
Mbappe has featured in advertising campaigns in China for products from electrolyte drinks to milk and cheese.
On Chinese social media, there were already several comments criticising Mbappe.
The hashtags "Dongpeng ends partnership with Mbappe" and "Several brands end partnerships with Mbappe" topped Weibo's trending list, with some users expressing anger at his remarks or telling him not to come to China.