Chinese beverage company Dongpeng and dairy group Mengniu are ending their partnerships with French football star Kylian Mbappé, Politico reports.
The decisions come after a video clip circulated in which Mbappé appears to joke about China’s former leader Mao Zedong and describes him as a dictator.
Neither company explicitly cites the video as the reason. Dongpeng does, however, refer to zero tolerance for behavior that offends national sentiments, the news site writes.
According to Chinese media, state broadcaster CCTV is also halting broadcasts of Spain’s La Liga, where Mbappé plays for Real Madrid.
