Khaby Lame Surpasses Charli D'Amelio As Most Followed TikToker Creator In The World

Megan Ambers
·2 min read
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Senegalese content creator Khaby Lame is now officially the most followed TikToker in the world, with over 145M followers, surpassing Charli D’Amelio, who has 142.2M followers.

Over the past few weeks, Lame’s fans have launched a social media campaign to help him surpass D’Amelio on TikTok, which successfully worked. His TikTok account has over 78.3 million followers compared to D’Amelio’s 48.8 million.

According to CNN, Lame said that he came up with the idea of mocking different TikTokers after seeing several videos circulating online.

“I came up with the idea because I was seeing these videos circulating, and I liked the idea of bringing some simplicity to it,” Lame said. ” I thought of a way to reach as many people as possible. And the best way was not to speak.”

Lame joined the platform in 2020 after being laid off from his job as a machine operator at a factory in Turin, Italy. During quarantine, the Senegal-born comedian became famous for his videos poking fun at other TikTokers went viral.

The 22-year-old said he started making videos while unemployed during quarantine because he was bored.

“The pandemic had just started,” Lame said. “and I was bored with a lot of time on my hands, so I started making videos on TikTok.”

@khaby.lame After all, there’s no harm in trying 🤣🙋🏿‍♂️🦵🏿 #learnfromkhaby #learnontiktok @tiktok ♬ suono originale – Khabane lame

In a profile written last year, Lame was commended for having an “everyman” aspect, according to The New York Times.

“His work lacks the polished production value associated with the most famous TikTok stars of today,” the article read. “His rise has been entirely organic.”

Samir Chaudry, the founder of The Public Press, said Lame’s content nearly debunks the overproduced content we see online, and he represents authenticity. 

“His content almost debunks or mocks the overproduced trends that happen across social media, whether it’s life hacks or other things like that,” Chaudry said. “He almost represents this authenticity over production. I think that’s very appealing at scale to people, this feeling of someone not trying too hard it’s something that feels authentic. This opportunity to connect with someone who is unaffiliated, underproduced, and feels very real is a juxtaposition of what we’re seeing in the social media space.”