Global soccer icon Kylian Mbappé found himself at the center of a controversy after laughing at a meme that depicted China’s former leader Mao Zedong. This incident has sparked significant backlash, including TV blackouts, sponsor losses, and what many are describing as widespread hysteria in China. One individual who has lived through Mao’s Cultural Revolution is calling out the absurdity of the situation and criticizing her country’s reaction.
Xi Van Fleet, a Chinese-American author and anti-communist activist, appeared on Fox Business and discussed how most people in China are largely unaware of what Mbappé actually said. “This is fascinating because most individuals in China have no clue about his comments,” she pointed out. “They only know that he supposedly insulted China. There’s no freedom of speech or press, so people just follow what the government tells them.”
She further stated, “Is Mao not a dictator? I spent my youth under Mao, and there’s hardly anyone who hasn’t heard of people who suffered or died because of his regime. He was responsible for the deaths of up to 80 million Chinese. Calling him a dictator doesn’t even scratch the surface; he was a tyrant, a mass murderer.”
The origins of the uproar can be traced back to a recent interview on “The Bridge,” a French talk show. Mbappé, 27, reacted to a meme jokingly linking him to Mao, presumably because one of his nicknames is “The Dictator.” The humor, as you might guess, didn’t sit well with China’s government.
In response to the fallout, various Chinese sponsors have cut ties with Mbappé, and state-run CCTV has halted the broadcast of La Liga matches, which features teams like Real Madrid. La Liga was the first to publicly apologize, followed by Mbappé himself, and eventually, Real Madrid issued an apology. Initially, the club maintained that Mbappé’s remarks were personal expressions that were not intended to offend, but after pressure from CCTV, they issued a formal apology.
For Xi, the immediate apologies from Mbappé and others are frustrating. She believes that the soccer player should have taken a firmer stand. “The truth will set you free; understand who Mao really was and stand by what you said,” she advised.
