A bus with an advertisement featuring Kylian Mbappe for Dongpeng Beverage Group's "Bushuila" electrolyte drink is seen on a street in Shanghai on Tuesday. | AFP-JIJI
Oct 28, 2026
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG/LONDON – France soccer captain Kylian Mbappe apologized to China on Tuesday after a fierce backlash over his comments referring to late Chinese leader Mao Zedong as a dictator, underscoring how swiftly global celebrities can come unstuck.
In a video on a French podcast that has since been taken down, Mbappe is heard discussing a funny meme where his face had been photoshopped on to that of “some guy — I think he’s a Chinese dictator.”
“During a recent interview, I reacted to an image of myself,” Real Madrid forward Mbappe said in a statement. “My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world.
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Source: The Japan Times · Casey Hall, Clare Jim
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