China backlash prompts apology from The Bridge over Kylian Mbappe video

The Bridge, a programme presented by Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, has apologised after a video featuring his team-mate Kylian Mbappe caused anger in China.

The footage showed Mbappe joking about edited images linking his face to former Chinese leader Mao Zedong. It was filmed behind the scenes in April and posted on the programme’s social media account on Monday, only hours after Mbappe finished second to England captain Harry Kane in the Ballon d’Or ceremony by a narrow number of votes.

In the clip, Mbappe appeared to comment humorously on composite images of his face, referring to what he believed was a “Chinese dictator” – an apparent reference to Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic of China.

The video prompted widespread criticism on Chinese social media. The Bridge subsequently removed it from its account less than two hours after it was published, once it began circulating on Chinese platforms.

However, the deletion did not end the controversy. The programme later issued an apology through its Instagram story.

“We are sorry that this video caused offence to people in China and elsewhere around the world,” the statement said.

“We apologise to anyone who felt offended, as well as to Kylian, his partners and the organisations whose relationships with China and the Chinese people may have been affected.”

According to RMC Sport, the video had been approved by Mbappe’s team before it was released.

Mbappe had also apologised earlier that morning, as the issue began to affect his commercial relationships in the Chinese market.

Commercial fallout

Three Chinese companies have ended their agreements with Mbappe as a result of the controversy.

They are Dongpeng, a drinks company; Mengniu, a dairy products group; and MilkGround, which specialises in cheese production.

The consequences have also extended to television coverage in China. State broadcaster CCTV decided to suspend broadcasts of La Liga matches and other games in which Mbappe could appear.

It also removed advertisements featuring the France captain.

The dispute follows a period of heightened attention on Mbappe after he narrowly missed out on the Ballon d’Or, finishing behind Harry Kane. The video, filmed months earlier, only became widely known after its publication on Monday and its subsequent spread across Chinese social media platforms.