Younes Khalifi, the creator of a deepfake video that placed Kylian Mbappe’s face over images of Mao Zedong, says he never imagined the joke would lead to a diplomatic crisis.
The satirical clip was posted on Khalifi’s X account in August 2023, but attracted little attention in China at the time. It returned to prominence on Tuesday, 27 October, after Mbappe discussed it on The Bridge podcast.
The France captain said: “The meme I laughed at the most was when they put a man, I think a Chinese dictator, and put my head on him.”
Mbappe’s use of the word “dictator” caused widespread anger in China. The controversy then developed into commercial consequences, with Chinese companies suspending partnerships with the player. Chinese authorities said the incident was an act that “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people”.
‘Total madness’
Speaking to French newspaper Le Parisien, Khalifi said he was surprised by the scale of the fallout.
“I saw the video on Monday evening, and I was happy when Mbappe said it was his favourite meme. That made me happy,” he said. “But I never expected it to go beyond that and lead to a diplomatic crisis. This is total madness.”
Khalifi said the idea had been inspired by the attention surrounding Mbappe during the summer of 2023, when the forward’s future at Paris Saint-Germain was the subject of intense debate.
“I followed football to some extent, I worked as a developer, and I was interested in deepfake technology and artificial intelligence to make humorous videos,” he said. “Two ideas came together in my mind, and I made the video.”
He insisted that the clip was not intended to offend Chinese people.
“I did not want to hurt the feelings of any people. I was simply making humorous videos, the idea came to me and I carried it out,” he said.
Sympathy for Mbappe
Khalifi also expressed sympathy for Mbappe over the consequences of the incident, saying the player had been forced to deal with far more than the mistake warranted.
“I feel sorry for Mbappe,” he said. “It is sad that he has had to deal with all of this because of an unintentional slip, and that he has lost sponsors and potential supporters. He is bearing far more than is proportionate to the seriousness of the matter.”
Khalifi later addressed the controversy on X, writing: “I woke up to find myself responsible for a diplomatic crisis. If you sue me, Mbappe, I will be financially ruined. Sorry, I have nothing you can get from me.”
He also posted a message to Chinese followers who had begun following him because of the dispute. Khalifi said he regarded Mao Zedong as one of the most influential figures in world history, expressed admiration for China’s history and culture, and said he hoped to visit the country one day.
He ended the message with: “Long live Chinese-French friendship!”
