Senegalese-born content creator, Khaby Lame is the new king of TikTok after amassing more that 142.7 million followers on the app. The TikTok star toppled America TikToker Charli D’Amelio who has 142.3 million followers on Thursday night.
Lame rose to fame after his videos, where he reacts silently to absurd and complicated life hacks went viral. The silent videos attracts millions of likes and views on the app, and have helped Lame attract several brand partnerships. In recent weeks, TikTok users had launched efforts to push Lame to the top.
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D’Amelio and her sister Dixie who have been the reigning champions of TikTok until now claimed they stumbled into stardom, and have managed to build a media brand from making seconds-long dancing videos. According to Forbes Estimates, the sisters earned about $27.5 million (Sh3.2 billion) in 2021.
Lame’s rise to the top is significant due to a number of racism claims against the app in the past. TikTok users in 202 and 2021 raised issues highlighting how black creators on the platform were treated. They claimed that the app’s algorithm favoured white creators as opposed to people of colour. The company pledged to take a number of steps, and created a diversity council and donated money to nonprofits that help the black community.
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