China made Mbappé apologise – but many don’t know exactly what he said
On Monday night, as Kylian Mbappé was attending the Ballon d’Or ceremony in London, he was also becoming the centre of a huge controversy on Chinese social media.
Football fans had stumbled upon a clip of him joking about the meme that makes him “laugh the most” – where his face is superimposed on a “Chinese dictator” resembling Mao Zedong, who oversaw one of the bloodiest chapters in the country’s past.
The controversy spread like wildfire as Chinese brands cut him off one by one and China Media Group, the parent group of state broadcaster CCTV, suspended broadcasts of La Liga matches. A foreign ministry spokesperson said: “Words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with joint opposition from all sectors of Chinese society.”
But on the Chinese internet, few were explicitly spelling out those words and actions, or even using the name of Mao – who remains a near-sacred figure in the country.
China’s sophisticated censorship system, which cuts 1.4 billion people off from the global internet, meant many didn’t know exactly what had happened.
The accusation of “hurting the feelings of the Chinese people” alone seemed enough to trigger a tsunami of anger, amplified by social media algorithms and a heavily controlled internet, where people are wary of disagreeing with the majority view.
It wasn’t long before Mbappé, one of the biggest football stars in the world, said he was “sincerely sorry” for his “ill-judged” comment. His club, Real Madrid, and the Spanish league La Liga, also issued apologies. China is a huge market for the world’s most popular sport.
Beijing later confirmed it was taking the footballer’s apology “seriously”. China Media Group has yet to say whether broadcasts will resume.
But the anger online lingered.
“An apology is the least he should do, but I don’t forgive him. I support a ban on him,” read a top comment on Weibo.
Mbappé did not mention Mao by name in the interview, but many felt any joke that involved the founder of Communist China crossed a line.
“Do you know who you hurt? He is the spiritual pillar of the Chinese people,” read one Weibo comment liked by more than 700 users.
“He’s the most important figure in our history. Do you think a simple apology can make everything okay?” another wrote.
