Global brands and celebrities have lost the Chinese market over social media posts, promotional events, and trademark lawsuits. Now soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé has joined them.
Mbappé, during an appearance on a popular French online talk show, described a meme figure as “a Chinese dictator,” a comment widely perceived as referring to Mao. Within days, three Chinese sponsors cut ties with Mbappé and China Media Group, China’s state broadcaster, said it would suspend broadcasts of LaLiga, Spain’s top soccer league, as well as other games involving Mbappé.
Global celebrities and companies have faced similar backlash in China over comments, imagery, and jokes deemed politically or culturally insensitive.
Mbappé has since apologized. “My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world,” he wrote on X. “I apologize to everyone my words have upset. This was absolutely not my intention. I have deep respect for the Chinese people and their history, and I am sincerely sorry.”
What happened?
The companies that ended their relationships with Mbappé include Dongpeng, a beverage maker; Mengniu, a dairy giant; and Milkground, a cheese maker. The companies did not specify what prompted their decisions.
In an effort to contain the fallout, LaLiga president Javier Tebas met with the Chinese ambassador to Spain to “seek solutions that allow us to overcome this episode.”
“Our commitment is to keep working together so that an individual episode does not harm the important advances achieved nor affect the millions of Chinese fans who follow our competitions,” he said in a statement.
Mbappe’s team, Real Madrid, also apologized on Wednesday. “Our club maintains a deep respect for China, its history, its culture and its citizens, as well as for the millions of Chinese fans who feel affection and admiration for Real Madrid,” the club said in a statement.
Has this happened before?
In 2019, Daryl Morey, then the Houston Rockets’ general manager, posted a tweet in support of protests in Hong Kong. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV pulled NBA games off the air in response; the blackout lasted until 2022.
In early 2021, Swedish fashion giant H&M’s decision to stop using cotton from Xinjiang, following concerns over alleged human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims, drew a consumer boycott and severely affected its sales.
In June 2026, activewear brand Lululemon had to apologize after a promotional event taking place on the Great Wall of China mistakenly featured a Japanese drum, drawing social media backlash. Chinese netizens quickly pointed out that Lululemon, which had posted images from the event, had used a Japanese taiko instrument rather than a Chinese dagu drum. The company later removed all images related to the drum event from its social media.
In another recent case, Louis Vuitton faced a backlash after it won a trademark infringement case against Chinese milk tea chain Molly Tea. A Chinese court ruled in June that Molly Tea’s four-petaled logo infringed a Louis Vuitton trademark, and ordered it to pay 10.3 million yuan ($1.5 million) in damages. The ruling divided Chinese social media: some users called it unfair, and many boycotted the luxury brand in response. LVMH, Louis Vuitton’s parent, later said the controversy had weighed on its China sales; revenue at LVMH’s fashion and leather goods division fell 5% on an organic basis.
Not even Chinese brands are safe from public backlash. In 2024, Chinese bottled-water brand Nongfu Spring faced a public boycott and online backlash after some social media users accused Nongfu of using Japanese-style imagery on its packaging, with some 7-Eleven stores going as far as stopping to sell Nongfu products at their stores.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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