Mbappé apologises after China backlash over joke about image resembling Mao at Ballon d'Or

Kylian Mbappé, at the Ballon d'Or ceremony in London on Monday night, apologised after a clip of him joking about a meme that superimposed his face on a “Chinese dictator” resembling Mao Zedong circulated on Chinese social media and prompted companies and state media to react. Several Chinese brands severed ties and China Media Group, the parent of state broadcaster CCTV, suspended broadcasts of La Liga matches after the clip spread. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said: "Words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with joint opposition from all sectors of Chinese society."

China’s tightly controlled internet shaped the public response as much as the clip itself: the BBC reported the country’s sophisticated censorship system, which cuts 1.4 billion people off from the global internet, limited the information available to many users. The accusation that Mbappé had "hurt the feelings of the Chinese people" circulated widely and was amplified by social media algorithms in an environment where users often avoid contradicting the majority view. That context helps explain why, despite widespread outrage, many people on Chinese platforms were unclear about the exact words used in the interview.

Mbappé said he was "sincerely sorry" for his "ill-judged" comment and both Real Madrid and La Liga issued apologies on his behalf. Beijing later said it was taking the footballer’s apology "seriously". China Media Group has not announced whether it will resume broadcasting La Liga matches.

The clip at the centre of the storm showed Mbappé appearing to joke about the meme; he did not mention Mao by name in the interview, but many users regarded any joke involving the founder of the People’s Republic as crossing a line. On Weibo, users shared the footage while blurring the meme and redacting references to Mao. One top comment on Weibo read: "An apology is the least he should do, but I don't forgive him. I support a ban on him."

Many Chinese internet users sought to learn precisely what Mbappé had said but encountered further barriers: AI chatbots operating inside China were also censored and could not provide answers, and other posts avoided naming Mao directly by referring to "the person on the 100 yuan note" or "the teacher." Screenshots circulated with both the word "dictator" and Mbappé’s face blurred. Neither the Chinese foreign ministry statement nor the apologies from Mbappé, Real Madrid and La Liga mentioned Mao by name.

The article recalled the contested place Mao occupies in Chinese history: he led the Chinese Communist Party to victory in the civil war and founded the People’s Republic of China and died in 1976, while policies during his rule, including the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, produced a famine that killed tens of millions and unleashed violent purges across society. Chinese law also makes it illegal to "insult" or "slander" Communist Party martyrs and war heroes.

Mao’s symbolic presence remains prominent in public life: a portrait of him overlooks Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, and his embalmed body is placed on public display, drawing tens of thousands of visitors every day, while the Communist Party’s official verdict describes him as "a great revolutionary and a great Marxist." The BBC noted a revival of interest among young people who read his works and watch clips of him on social media, and that Chinese history books downplay the devastation of his rule.

Responses outside mainland China diverged: comments from the Chinese diaspora on platforms accessible abroad included "You don't need to apologise, you are not wrong," and "The ones who should apologise are the CCP; they kidnapped the Chinese people and brainwashed them." On X and Threads the controversy produced memes placing Mbappé’s face on images of Mao and, in some cases, on the body of Xi Jinping. Dairy company Mengniu, an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, cut ties with the player.

Mbappé’s apology and the corporate fallout have not resolved the situation inside China: China Media Group has yet to confirm whether La Liga broadcasts will resume, Mbappé’s Chinese social media account on Weibo was banned from being followed by new users on Tuesday, and anger on Chinese platforms continues to persist.