In 2022, the world met Khaby Lame, a TikToker whose wordless comedy gained him an awe-inspiring international following. His fame didn’t just stop at getting laughs on social media; in 2023, he made a whopping $16.5 million from brand partnerships. But Lame yearns for more; he’s setting his sights on the silver screen.
At 24 years old, the Senegalese-Italian TikTok star from a small northern Italian city has always had a passion for film. Lame’s creative content and natural charm have earned him a massive following of 162 million and enabled him to surpass fellow TikTok celebrity Charli D’Amelio.
His trademark comedy has been making waves in the online world. It takes everyday scenarios, blows them out of proportion, and presents them with a humorous twist. Uniquely, his videos lack spoken dialogue yet manage to pull in audiences ranging from tens to hundreds of millions. Essentially, his minimalist comedy proves that laughter is indeed a universal language.
Memorable videos include comedic gold like Lame struggling to operate a vacuum cleaner, which garnered an impressive 312 million views.
Khaby Lame’s journey: TikTok humor to cinema
Each piece of comedy content he produces sparks widespread appreciation worldwide, regardless of language barriers.
His meteoric rise on TikTok has led to rewarding brand partnerships, which brought in $16.5 million in 2023 alone. Yet, Lame isn’t solely in it for the money; he aims to share his unique comedic voice and inspire laughter.
Lame’s thriving social media presence has drawn collaborations with high-profile brands such as Google and State Farm. Impressively, in 2023, he even replaced State Farm’s Super Bowl ad with a TikTok feature of his own. This path led him to another Super Bowl appearance, where he partnered with Pepsi.
Not confined to social media, Lame has also built a name for himself as the brand ambassador for fashion giant Hugo Boss and even appeared in the popular video game “Fortnite. Still, his ultimate aspiration is to carve a niche in the film industry, his comedic brilliance attracting audiences back to the cinemas.
