HONG KONG — He’s one of the world’s most popular athletes, but Kylian Mbappé is suddenly paying the penalty for being on the wrong side of China’s fervent nationalism.
\n\nThe French soccer star’s own goal? Suggesting that Mao Zedong, the founding leader of communist China, was a dictator, in comments that revolved around memes portraying Mbappé as an authoritarian figure.
\n\nA host of Chinese brands said Tuesday that they were cutting ties with the French captain, the latest example of how rapidly celebrities can go from having their faces plastered in subway stations and on drink bottles to drawing condemnation over political sensitivities that are little understood outside China.
\n\nThe scale of the backlash prompted La Liga, the Spanish league of which Mbappé is the leading light, to apologize and distance itself from his remarks. Mbappé himself then apologized “to everyone my words have upset,” saying that his “comment was ill-judged.”
\n\nThe swift apologies aimed to head off what had been a wave of outrage.
\n\nDongpeng Beverage, known for its energy drinks, Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy, one of China’s largest dairy producers, and cheesemaker Milkground all issued similarly worded statements early Tuesday announcing that they were terminating their ties with…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/