Mbappé’s ‘Mao’ Controversy Exposes the Price of Doing Business in China

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé is learning the hard way that a joke can carry a multimillion-dollar price tag, particularly when it touches a political nerve in China.The French soccer star’s passing reference to communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong as a dictator during a French talk show has cost him at least three corporate endorsements and prompted Chinese media authorities to suspend broadcasts of matches featuring him. The widely circulated comment forced Mr. Mbappé, Real Madrid, and Spanish league La Liga to make public apologies amid a flood of backlash.Yet, as the controversy unfolds, a prominent congressional committee on China is asking why Mr. Mbappé needs to apologize for describing a dictator as a dictator. The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party said Mr. Mao’s record of one-party rule, repression, and policies that caused mass death is the objective definition of a dictator and dwarfs any offense that could be caused by the athlete’s remark.“Mao was a dictator, and by orders of magnitude, he did more harm to the Chinese people than a comment from a soccer player ever could,” the committee said in a statement.Mr. Mao’s Cultural Revolution and Great Famine caused tens of millions of deaths through starvation, persecution, and political violence. The committee argued that the Chinese Communist Party to this day practices oppression and ideological purges while denying citizens basic human rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of religion.The committee’s intervention is the latest in a controversy that began with Mr. Mbappé’s offhand remark about a meme circulating on social media. He described “a video someone made of a guy … I think he was a Chinese dictator.” The video shows an altered image depicting Mbappé’s face on the blue-suited body of Mao Zedong.Mr. Mao, who founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949 after the Communist Party defeated the Nationalist Government in a revolutionary war, remains a revered figure for many in China, where public discussion and criticism of the country’s top political figures is tightly controlled.After the blowback, Mr. Mbappé posted an apology on Tuesday in Chinese, French, and English, saying he understands how his comments may have hurt people in China and Chinese communities around the world. “My comment was ill-judged and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world,” he said. “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.”China’s Foreign Ministry accepted the apology, but Mr. Mbappé ’s pocketbook has already suffered. As a global celebrity, his image appears across China, promoting products ranging from electrolyte drinks to milk and cheese. Beverage maker Dongpeng, dairy giant Mengniu, and cheese maker Milkground all announced they were ending commercial agreements with him.China Media Group, the state media conglomerate, has also suspended broadcasts of La Liga’s matches, other games, and advertisements featuring Mr. Mbappé. The China Football Association also lodged a stern protest and called for a formal apology from the club and its star.The Communist Party’s official People’s Daily endorsed the sanctions in a column describing public figures who cross political red lines as liabilities for their corporate partners. “Once a public figure’s speech and actions cross the limit or step on a red line, he becomes a brand’s negative assets,” the newspaper said in an online commentary.La Liga quickly distanced itself from Mr. Mbappé’s comments, saying that they were his personal views. League president Javier Tebas apologized publicly and said the organization was working with Chinese partners to resolve matters. Real Madrid issued its own apology Wednesday, reaffirming its respect for the Chinese people and their history.The House Select Committee on China says the controversy should inspire a more open discussion about Mr. Mao’s dictatorship and the suffering inflicted on Chinese people. “The real news story is the companies rushing to apologize so they can continue to do business in China,” the committee wrote. “The [Chinese Communist Party] is the largest oppressor of the Chinese people and their human rights, and those businesses that work with the CCP help normalize its crushing brutality.”The conflict with the Chinese added to a tough week for Mr. Mbappé who also lost out to Englishman Harry Kane for the coveted Ballon d’Or award, the biggest individual prize in soccer.

Mbappé’s ‘Mao’ Controversy Exposes the Price of Doing Business in China

Mbappé’s ‘Mao’ Controversy Exposes the Price of Doing Business in China

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