Kylian Mbappe loses two major China sponsorships over Mao Zedong joke

French football star Kylian Mbappe was dropped by two major Chinese brands after a video circulated online in which he appeared to joke about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, France 24 reported.

Energy drink company Dongpeng and dairy producer Mengniu both announced they were terminating their partnerships with Mbappe, citing a zero-tolerance policy towards behavior that offends Chinese national sentiment, according to France 24.

The video showed Mbappe saying the funniest internet meme he had seen was of his face photoshopped onto that of 'some guy -- I think he's a Chinese dictator,' an apparent reference to memes superimposing his face on Mao Zedong's image, France 24 detailed.

The authenticity of the video could not be immediately verified, but the backlash was swift, with Dongpeng's termination of cooperation with Mbappe becoming a top-trending topic on Chinese social media site Weibo, France 24 noted.

Mbappe, who recently lost the Ballon d'Or to Harry Kane, now faces the loss of two major sponsorships in China following the controversy, France 24 reported.