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Khaby Lame is KING OF TIKTOK! Laid-off factory worker overtakes Charli D’Amelio with 143M fans

'I am passionate about entertaining and making people laugh since childhood, and I am thankful to TikTok for offering me a global stage,' Khaby said
UPDATED JUN 24, 2022
Khaby Lame becomes the king of TikTok by gaining 143 million followers in two years (Photo by Pietro S. D'Aprano/Getty Images and Charli D’Amelio Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Khaby Lame becomes the king of TikTok by gaining 143 million followers in two years (Photo by Pietro S. D'Aprano/Getty Images and Charli D’Amelio Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

Khaby Lame is now the official king of TikTok. The 22-year-old content creator, Khaby (Khabene) Lame who comes from Chivasso, a small town located in the Turn district, Italy has now become the most followed content creator on the social media app TikTok. Khaby surpassed Charli D’Amelio, an 18-year-old content creator from the USA, who has held the record since March 2020 and currently has 142.3 million. The 22-year-old’s comedy bits have gained a massive following, and he’s become one of the most recognized and loved TikTok creators globally.

Lame's short comedy videos of lifehacks have got him global recognition. Lame’s iconic facial expressions and body language (his videos typically do not include dialog) have allowed his content to have worldwide appeal, and he’s developed an expertise in reaction videos and spoofing absurd lifehacks. Fans find his short comedy video very relatable and funny as his videos have no dialogue which allows everyone to relate to his videos and laugh over them. As Lame himself calls his muted expressions "universal langauge". “I speak a universal language that everyone understands,” he told Forbes.

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After losing his job as a factory worker at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Khaby was forced to move back into his parent’s home in Turin, Italy. And during the worldwide lockdown, Lame used his creativity to make these videos for TikTok, Lame told The New York Times. His first videos featured himself dancing, watching video games and using the app’s various filters, though he didn’t receive many views. That all changed in November 2020 when one of Khaby’s videos went viral. His first viral video has been viewed more than 17 million times.

In response to another person's needless complex lifehack video, Lame would demonstrate a simpler solution to the problem. Khaby’s follower count began to rapidly increase and by April 2021 he had overtaken Gianluca Vacchi as the most-followed Italian on TikTok. By July 2021, Khaby was the second-most followed user and held the record of most followers on TikTok (male) after surpassing Zach King, according to the Guinness World Records.



 

On February 23, Instagram shared an inspirational video on Lame's journey celebrating Black History Month. "For content creator Khaby Lame (@khaby00), it is all about the process — he makes videos because it brings him joy. Black joy means “just being exactly who I am, and paving the path for other young Black content creators in Italy to find success too.” This Black History Month, we’re continuing to #ShareBlackStories and celebrate Black joy in all its glory", the caption read.



 

“I am passionate about entertaining and making people laugh since childhood, and I am thankful to TikTok for offering me a global stage to share my passion with the rest of the world,” Lame said in a statement in August 2021, when he surpassed 100 million followers. “I will continue to work towards my dreams, knowing I can count on a beautiful community ready to cheer me on. Thank you and I love you all!”

With such a huge fan following, Lame has undoubtedly gained a lot of fortune. A content creator like him with such a huge following can charge anywhere from $1 million to $2 million per post. “Companies have been known to pay $200 to $20,000 per branded video promoted by influencers, depending on the individual’s level of influence,” says Influencer Marketing Hub.

In addition to his fanbase on TikTok, Lame has more than 78 million Instagram followers. He is repped by Iron Corp., a social media agency based in Milan.

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