Khaby Lame
| Khaby Lame | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born | Khabane Lame 9 March 2000 |
| Occupation | Tiktoker |
| TikTok information | |
| Page | |
| Followers | 126 million |
| Likes | 2.0 billion |
Last updated: 9 January 2022 | |
Khabane Lame (born 9 March 2000) is a Senegalese-born TikToker based in Chivasso, Italy. He is known for his TikTok videos in which he silently mocks overly complicated life hack videos. As of 2021, Lame is the second most-followed TikToker.
Early life and career
Lame was born in Senegal on 9 March 2000. His family moved to a public housing complex in Chivasso, Italy, when he was one year old.[1] He has three siblings. Lame worked as a CNC machine operator at a factory near Turin, before getting laid off in March 2020.[2][3][4]
Lame began posting on TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic after getting laid off.[2] His early videos showed him dancing and watching video games, and were mostly filmed in Italian and included Italian subtitles.[4] He rose to popularity with his video responses in the form of TikTok's "duet" and "stitch" features to videos depicting overly complicated "life hacks", in which he performs the same task, but simple, without saying anything.[3]
In April 2021, he surpassed Gianluca Vacchi as the most-followed Italian TikToker, and, in July 2021, he surpassed Addison Rae to become the second most-followed TikToker.[5][6] In August 2021, Lame appeared as a co-star for Juventus F.C.'s announcement of Manuel Locatelli.[7][8]
Public image
Taylor Lorenz and Jason Horowitz of The New York Times attributed Lame's success to his "universal exasperated everyman quality" and described his rise to fame as different from most TikTok stars as it was "entirely organic". Samir Chaudry, the founder of The Publish Press, a newsletter focused on the creator economy, stated that Lame's appeal was due to him representing "authenticity over production" and "not trying too hard".[3] Christina Ferraz, the founder of American marketing agency Thirty6Five, stated, "His exasperation is relatable, and feelings are universal." Lame has credited his own rise to fame to his humorous facial expressions and his silence, which he has described as "a way to reach as many people as possible".[9] As of October 2021, 8 of the 25 most-liked videos on TikTok are his.[10]
Personal life
Lame announced his engagement to Zaira Nucci in October 2020.[11] As of 2021, Lame lives in Milan as an expat with his agent.[4] Although he has been living in Italy since he was an infant, he still does not possess an Italian passport or citizenship, only a Senegalese citizenship. He has stated, "Sincerely, I don't need a piece of paper to define myself as Italian".[3] His estimated net worth is between $1.3 million and $2.7 million.[12]
See also
References
- ^ Pasqui, Giulio (13 May 2021). "Khaby Lame, ecco chi è l'italiano che ha più follower di Mark Zuckerberg ed è diventato una star dei social senza mai dire una parola". il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ a b Vinci, Alessandro (23 April 2021). "Khaby Lame è l'italiano più seguito su TikTok: dalle case popolari al sorpasso su Gianluca Vacchi". Corriere.it (in Italian). Retrieved 14 May 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d Horowitz, Jason; Lorenz, Taylor (2 June 2021). "Khaby Lame, the Everyman of the Internet". The New York Times. A. G. Sulzberger. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Karimi, Faith; Mezzofiore, Gianluca (2 October 2021). "He's the most popular man on TikTok. And he doesn't say a word". CNN. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ Waite, Thom (16 July 2021). "Khaby Lame is set to overtake Charli D'Amelio as TikTok's biggest star". Dazed. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
- ^ Web, Redazione (26 April 2021). "Khaby Lame supera Gianluca Vacchi: con 27M follower è il più seguito in Italia su tiktok". Radio Deejay (in Italian). Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ^ Beltrami, Marco (18 August 2021). "La Juventus ufficializza Locatelli con Khaby Lame: svelate tutte le cifre dell'affare". Fanpage (in Italian). Retrieved 18 August 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Bo, Marco (20 June 2021). "Khaby Lame, Dybala e Del Piero: anche il re dei social tifa Juve". Tuttosport (in Italian). Nuova Editoriale Sportiva. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Onukwue, Alexander (17 August 2021). "Senegal-born Khaby Lame is Europe's first TikTok megastar". Quartz Africa. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ Tapia, Amancay (8 October 2021). "The 17 most liked TikTok videos (all in one place)". Newsweek. Dev Pragad. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Longhitano, Lorenzo (1 June 2021). "Chi è Zaira Nucci, la fidanzata del tiktoker Khaby Lame". Fanpage (in Italian). Retrieved 30 June 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Turner-Cohen, Alex (10 August 2021). "Unemployed worker making millions". News.com.au. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
External links
- Khaby Lame on TikTok
- Khaby Lame on X
- Khaby Lame on Instagram
