China takes Mbappé's apology 'seriously' after backlash over his ‘Chinese dictator’ comments

BANGKOK (AP) — 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.

Soccer star Kylian Mbappé faced 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 soccer star , 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 for viewers in China Wednesday.

“Of course, once a public figure's speech and actions cross the limit, or step on a red line, ... he becomes a brand's negative asset,” said the Communist Party's official mouthpiece, the People's Daily, in an online column Wednesday. “It is owing to principles and the necessity of business logic that Chinese platforms and companies take firm actions to cut off such a relationship.”

The incident is the latest in a string of cases in which China has leveraged its economic clout to compel foreign companies and individuals to apologize for perceived slights. 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 soccer star and demanded an apology from La Liga, Mbappé and his club, Real Madrid.

The soccer star 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. “This was absolutely not my intention. I have deep respect for the Chinese people and their history, and I am sincerely sorry.”

On Tuesday, Spanish league president Javier Tebas had 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.

It was unclear Wednesday how CMG, which oversees sports broadcasts in China, would react after earlier demanding an apology from Real Madrid as well.

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. Comments about top leaders are considered sensitive and his comment was not translated by the brands or state media who criticized his remarks.

“Maybe he said something he shouldn’t have again and hurt people’s feelings here in China,” said He Xiaodou on Wednesday. The Beijing finance worker said he heard about the controversy, but did not know what it was about exactly. "I just vaguely got the impression that it might have been something political.“

Others who did know took the comments in stride.

"I think maybe some people or some companies are overreacting on this issue," said Li Zhi, a Beijing lawyer. “It's not a big deal. It's not the first time this happened."

Associated Press video producer Olivia Zhang and Wu Jia in Beijing contributed to this report.