Soccer-Mbappe seeks to defuse China anger after 'ill-judged' Mao comments

France soccer captain Kylian Mbappe apologised to China on Tuesday after a fierce backlash over his comments referring to late Chinese leader Mao ‌Zedong as a dictator, underscoring how swiftly global celebrities can come unstuck. In a video on a French podcast that has since been taken down, Mbappe is heard discussing a funny meme where his face had been photoshopped on to that of "some guy - I think he's a Chinese dictator".

"During a recent interview, I reacted to an image of myself," Real Madrid forward Mbappe said in a statement. "My comment ‌was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world.

I apologise to everyone my words have upset," added Mbappe, who has ties with firms including Swiss sportswear brand On Holding, hotel chain Accor and Lego. "This was absolutely not my intention" The backlash highlighted the risks for athletes and brands in the lucrative China market, where satire about Mao, modern China's founding leader who ruled the country from 1949 until his death in 1976, remain a social taboo.

Other major organisations that have incurred the wrath ‌of Beijing and Chinese netizens include fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana, Swiss watchmaker Swatch and the National Basketball Association. Some recovered quickly while others took years.

"Mbappe's team knew, or should have known, what the true cost of Chinese brand endorsements was all about," said Terrence ‌Burns, sports sponsorship expert and CEO of the T. Swiss-based On Holding, which signed Mbappe in September after he had spent two decades at US rival Nike, welcomed his apology and said it had "deep respect" for China.

Denmark's Lego, which has a Mbappe building set on sale in China, said it could not comment. The Mbappe set still featured on Lego's Chinese website on Tuesday.

'WHAT DID HE SAY?' Chinese state media outlet China Daily said Mbappe's remark had "triggered a backlash among his Chinese fans, threatened his lucrative commercial relationships and offered a sharp reminder of the limits of celebrity influence". ⁠Many Chinese would rather not repeat it, the state-backed Global Times added.

"The message from Chinese ⁠consumers is clear: Respect is not optional; one doesn't get to profit from China while disrespecting it." On Chinese social media platform Weibo one user wrote about the apology; "Not accepted. State broadcaster CCTV struck a more conciliatory tone, however,saying it would listen to what Mbappe had to say after his apology, ⁠and even more importantly" watch what he does.

"We hope La Liga, Real Madrid, and Mbappe himself will genuinely learn a lesson from this, offer a sincere apology, and thoroughly correct their mistakes," CCTV said in a statement.