Khaby Lame's Rise: From Joblessness to 2nd Most Followed Tiktoker Without Saying a Word
- Barely a year before rising to become the second most followed TikToker, Khaby Lame was fired from his job
- With lots of free time on his hands, he embarked on creating content to make people laugh, unaware of how famous he would eventually become
- The 21-year-old now rubs shoulders with global superstars and eve featured in an ad with billionaire Mark Zuckerberg
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Khaby Lame, a young Senegalese based in Italy, has overcome immeasurable odds to become the second most followed person on TikTok.
Khaby boasts over 121 million followers, behind Charlie D'Amelio, an American dancer with over 129 million followers.
Before going viral during the pandemic and becoming a favourite among world-renown celebrities, the 21-year-old had it rough.
As we speak, Khaby is a global sensation, and PSG star Kylian Mbappe famously aped him while celebrating a goal.
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Khaby was also featured in a Squid Game-inspired advert alongside iconic footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovich.
He achieves all this without uttering a single word in his videos.
Jobless Khaby
Before the pandemic, Khaby worked in a factory but lost his job in 2020 when it struck.
With lots of free time on his hands, Khaby started doing TikTok videos. His clips would mostly feature him reacting to videos of people going to extreme ends to perform simple tasks by doing the same task straightforwardly.
When his father noticed how much time he was spending on TikTok, he urged Khaby to look for a job instead, but the young man had his eyes set on the social media platform.
Not saying a word in his clips has played to his advantage, as the videos transcended language barriers.
Influencer takes trending Amapiano dance challenge to red carpet, Mzansi impressed: "You won the challenge"
Khaby becomes famous
Even before people knew his name, videos of the young man had become a mainstay on social media.
However, it was never his intention to become famous. Instead, according to Khaby, he got into content creation for a comical reason.
“I got into it to make people laugh,” said Khaby, citing Will Smith and Eddie Murphy as his idols.
The fame has enabled Khaby to rub shoulders with the who's who in society and attend events that attract the crème de la crème in society.
For instance, while attending a Formula 1 race, Khaby met movie star Vin Diesel and retired sprinter Usain Bolt.
Another video depicted Manchester United star Paul Pogba throwing his jersey at Khaby after spotting him after a match at Old Trafford.
Khaby’s wealth
Khaby, whose net worth is well over R14 million, recently landed a lucrative deal with Meta, formerly Facebook and even appeared in a video alongside CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Given how fast he has risen, the sky could not limit this young man.
“Haibo”: Khaby lame hilariously shows the internet how to open a bottle
Briefly News previously reported that a video showing a man apparently hoping to share the easiest way to open a bottle has surfaced on social media but many are a bit confused and amused. @1Hekma_ dropped a video of a man showing internet users how to open a bottle of juice.
The man is seen using scissors to open the bottle and to enjoy the juicy contents but it seems to be taking the toughest route because the bottle has a lid that you can just twist to open.
Many reactions are humorous and Twitter followers in Mzansi are not sure if the guy is really sharing a valuable idea.
@Hardik_700 said:
“Killing it on the internet, you are new meme material bro!! Keep simplifying lol.”
@JoshManyanya said:
“This guy is a legend.”
Source: Briefly News
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
Lebogang Mashego (Current Affairs HOD) Lebogang Mashego runs the Current Affairs desk. She joined the Briefly News team in 2021. She has 6 years of experience in the journalism field. Her journalism career started while studying at Rhodes University, where she worked for the Oppidan Press for 3 years. She worked as a lifestyle writer and editor at W24 and Opera News. She graduated with a BA degree majoring in Journalism and Media Studies in 2017. She's a recipient of the INMA Elevate Scholarship. Email: lebogang.mashego@briefly.co.za