39 publishers · first seen Tue, 27 Oct 2026 08:51 UTC · updated Wed, 04 Nov 2026 04:25 UTC
French football star Kylian Mbappé has apologised for his comments about a meme depicting him as Chinese leader Mao Zedong, which sparked a backlash in China. In a video clip, Mbappé referred to the meme as showing his face superimposed on that of 'a Chinese dictator'. The controversy led to at least three Chinese companies terminating brand deals with the footballer, and China's Foreign Ministry responding to the incident. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV pulled a Real Madrid La Liga match from its Sunday broadcast schedule following the controversy. Mbappé, Real Madrid and La Liga have all issued apologies, but CCTV has not clarified when broadcasts might resume.
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