Chinese brands end partnerships with Kylian Mbappé

Chinese beverage and dairy companies Dongpeng and Mengniu said they were ending their partnerships with Kylian Mbappé immediately, while cheese producer Milkground also announced it was ending its arrangement with the French footballer. The companies made their decisions after a clip circulated online that appeared to show Mbappé discussing a meme depicting his face on Mao Zedong, but the recording’s authenticity has not been independently confirmed in reports cited here. Dongpeng said it opposed conduct it considered offensive to national sentiment and was terminating all cooperation with Mbappé. Mengniu likewise said it opposed words or actions it considered hurtful to Chinese people and was ending its cooperation with him. Milkground separately announced that its partnership with the player was ending. The statements establish the companies’ decisions and their stated rationales; they do not establish that the clip was authentic. The circulating excerpt appears to show Mbappé describing a meme as the funniest he had seen of himself and referring to the person depicted as a Chinese dictator. The image shown in the clip appears to merge Mbappé’s face with Mao’s. Reuters and...