Celeste Amarilla’s “Open Letter” to Mbappé Is Not an Apology. It Was a Résumé with a Victim Complex

Kylian Mbappé called Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla a “despicable woman” after she posted racist remarks about him following France’s World Cup victory over Paraguay. She had mocked his identity and education, writing that he “grew up sucking on coconuts” and that “the most educated creatures he ever heard were chimpanzees.”

The backlash was immediate and global. The French Football Federation condemned her remarks as “utterly abhorrent.” The Paraguayan government distanced itself, and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed support for Mbappé. Even the UN backed him.

Amarilla has now published an open letter addressed to Mbappé. It should not be read as an apology. It is a résumé with a victim complex.

Here is the full text of Celeste Amarilla’s open letter:

OPEN LETTER TO MBAPPÉ (translated)

The problem is between you and me. I never said anything about France. In my case, I studied in a French school from the age of 2 until 17, when I finished secondary school. I am who I am thanks to the College de L’Immaculée Concepción, and wherever I go, thanks to the education it gave me, we sang La Marseillaise and honoured your flag alongside ours. I speak French, and I love visiting France. Last Christmas I spent with my family in Courchevel, and we welcomed the New Year in Saint-Tropez. Nothing against France. The problem is with you.

Your arrogance and contempt angered me greatly. Before the match, you said: “If we have to get our hands dirty, we are going to get them dirty.” We are not stupid. We understood perfectly well that “the dirt” was the Paraguayan team and the Paraguayan team is all of us. Then you said you were going to wear a tuxedo. We also understand very well that you are so elegant that you wear tuxedos, while we are poor and brutish, as if we did not know what we are. Still, all of Paraguay remained silent, including me. We endured it.

During the match, you behaved arrogantly. Your contempt for every player was noticeable, as if they disgusted you. And without covering your mouth, you said: “son of your mother,” an extremely aggressive phrase in Latin America, and you know that. That is why you said it.

And finally, you disrespected our goalkeeper’s greeting. That is not done. The handshake between rivals after the contest is almost sacred, in war and in peace, in defeat and in victory. You denied him your hand and shouted your victory in his face. That is not done. You showed your contempt, your arrogance and your poor manners in one second. It hurt me. It hurt my whole country, a lot. France should reprimand you, because it is a country of gentlemen, with centuries of history and of savoir-faire. France should reprimand your conduct.

My posts came with my blood boiling, this mestiza blood, this mixture of Indigenous blood with Spanish blood that runs through my veins was boiling. So I made those posts while you were still mocking those huge Paraguayan players who fought you equally until the end of the match. That is how I wrote. However, later I regretted mistreating you with the same insults I received, because people also despise me for being brown and Latina. They call us “sudacas.” I regretted it and deleted the post. I realised I was repeating patterns I detest, and I deleted it. I understand that this may have bothered you, because it is humiliating.

Now I demand that you also retract what you said to me and apologise to me. I will not tolerate your violence either. You do not know me. You have no idea who I am, and you have no right to say that I AM A DESPICABLE WOMAN, UNWORTHY OF THE POSITION I HOLD. I am a Senator of the Nation of Paraguay, elected with votes. Before that, I was also a National Deputy elected with votes. Thousands of Paraguayans voted for me and consider me their voice. My main commitment is to be the voice of the Paraguayan people, to say what they cannot say, and to defend my country even with my life. That is expected of me.

I represent my country because I was voted in free elections. I was freely voted in to make its laws and to be its voice. You have no idea what it means to be elected to defend your country, to be the voice of the people. I was elected to be a National Senator. I do not know if you grasp the importance of my position.

Who are you to call me unworthy or despicable if you do not even know me? Gender violence, pure and hard. Political violence against a woman who got where she is through the popular vote of her people. Precisely you, by despising my gender, are unjustly offending a woman. I did not attack your colour or your preferences, so do not attack my condition as a woman and politician. Retract what you said to me, honour your French citizenship and apologise to me. Otherwise, I may initiate legal action for gender violence.

Celeste Amarilla
Senator of the Nation of Paraguay

This Is Not an Apology

Celeste Amarilla is not apologising because she suddenly discovered dignity. She is panicking because her racism became an international incident. Macron condemned it; the Paraguayan government distanced itself from her. The French Football Federation said it would file a legal complaint, and even the UN backed Kylian Mbappé after the abuse he received. That is what happens when being racist behind a phone screen meets actual consequences.

And her “open letter” may be one of the worst apology statements I have ever read. It is not an apology. It is a résumé with a victim complex. She spends half of it explaining how much she loves France, how she studied at a French school, how she holidayed in Courchevel and Saint-Tropez, as if proximity to whiteness is a legal defence. “I’m not racist, I spent Christmas in Courchevel” is not the argument she thinks it is. I had to laugh at the way she invoked her “mestiza blood,” as if having mixed Spanish and Indigenous ancestry somehow makes it impossible for her to be racist. That is not how racism works. Mestizaje has often been used in Latin America to dodge anti-Blackness, not dismantle it.

The most revealing part is that she seems convinced she is somehow more entitled to Frenchness than the actual captain of the French national team. Mbappé was born in France. He represents France. He has carried France on the world stage. But because he is Black, a Paraguayan senator thought she could reduce Mbappé to racist stereotypes and then acted offended when he called her despicable. That is not political gender violence. For her to invoke such language is to dodge accountability. Now she is demanding that Mbappé apologise, or she will seek legal proceedings. The cheek!

Final Thoughts

Calling a racist woman despicable is not misogyny. It is not machismo. It is not gender-based violence. Not every insult directed at a woman is sexist. Sometimes a woman says something racist, gets called out for being racist, and then tries to hide behind feminism because consequences have arrived at the door.

Mbappé did not attack her because she is a woman. He responded because she attacked him first with anti-Black racism. That distinction is what Amarilla is not comprehending. Weaponising gender-based violence to dodge responsibility for racism cheapens the very real violence women face in politics.

And dragging Paraguayan players into her letter only makes it worse. They did not ask her to speak. They did not need her to embarrass their country after a football match. Paraguay played, fought and lost. She chose to turn that loss into an international racism scandal.

So no, Mbappé does not owe her an apology. If anything, she should be thanking him for reminding the world that racism should still bring shame. And may he lift the World Cup trophy with the same grace he used to handle her nonsense.