Several Chinese brands have dropped French footballer Kylian Mbappé following a backlash over alleged comments referring to the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

Mbappé reportedly told a French talk show The Bridge the meme “that makes me laugh the most, it’s the one where there’s a video of a guy, I think it’s a Chinese dictator…” As he trails off, a meme of his face superimposed on an image resembling Mao appears.

It’s a play on the Real Madrid forward’s nickname – “the dictator” – which he earned because of his huge influence in football. It has become a running joke, and the source of many memes involving Mbappé.

But the joke did not go down well in China, where Mao is revered by the Communist Party, despite his chaotic and often violent rule that left millions dead.

There have been a few people who have come out in support of Mbappé on Chinese social media. But theirs is a rare response given China’s tightly controlled internet, where people are expected to toe the party and government line on sensitive topics.

And few topics are as sensitive as Mao.

The BBC has reached out to Mbappe and Real Madrid for comment. The Bridge is hosted by Mbappé’s Real Madrid teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni.

The original video is not available on the show’s YouTube channel, and it’s unclear when the interview first aired. In the unverified clips that have been circulating online, Mbappé does not identify Mao by name. He says he “uses [the meme] with friends all the time”.

The furore appeared to kick off on Monday night after Chinese football forum Dongqiudi drew attention to the comments in a statement, saying they were “inappropriate” and “hurt the feelings of Chinese people”.

Screengrabs of the clip and meme have since spread quickly on Chinese social media, with people echoing this sentiment and even calling for a boycott of both the French striker and his club, Real Madrid.

But some have blurred the meme itself as well as the part of the comment they found offensive, when Mbappe refers to “a Chinese dictator”.

Dongqiudi said in its statement that it was “unable to translate” his comments because they were “offensive to China and the Chinese people”.

So, many people are also wondering what exactly Mbappe said and have responded to the angry posts and comments with questions, wanting to know more.