The 24-year-old influencer, who has over 162 million followers, rose to fame with charming videos of his reactions to everyday life in which he never says a word
Khaby Lame, the Senegal-born world’s most popular TikTok personality who never says a word in videos watched by millions of followers, addressed the youth in his native country on Friday when he was appointed as UNICEF goodwill ambassador.
The 24-year-old influencer, who has over 162 million followers, rose to fame with charming videos of his reactions to everyday life in which he never says a word. His following surged during the pandemic, when he was fired from his factory job and used the extra time on his hands to make and upload more videos.
Being a UNICEF ambassador will allow him to “see all the world and its problems,” Lame said, adding that he hoped he could contribute to solving some of them.
“It’s a true honor to be appointed as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador and be part of an organization that puts children’s rights front and center every day,” Lame said in a statement. “From my own experience as a child fearing poverty, struggling to find my passion at school, and losing my job during the COVID-19 pandemic, to finding my place and calling in the world, I know that all children can thrive when they are given a chance and opportunity.”
Senegal is a major source of irregular migration to Europe. Over 60% of Senegalese people are under 25, and 90% work in informal jobs. They have watched for years as money made from natural resources has gone overseas, and many say they have no other choice but to embark on treacherous journeys in rickety fishing boats across the Atlantic.
“I tell them to dream big,” Lame said when asked about his message to Senegal’s youth. “Try and do your best to accomplish your dreams, even though there are people telling you that you cannot reach them.”
Lame moved to Italy from his native Senegal when he was an infant with his working class parents, but was only granted Italian citizenship when he was 20.
“I’ve been in Italy for 20 years since I was only 2 years old,” Lame told The Associated Press in Dakar. Looking sharp in a beige suit and a matching tie, he added: “My blood is from Senegal, but I feel Senegalese and Italian at the same time.”
Lame’s appointment to UNICEF came at the end of a four-day visit to Senegal where he met children and young people who are driving positive change in their communities.
Lame joins the ranks of other UNICEF goodwill ambassadors, including football superstars Lionel Messi and David Beckham and singer Katy Perry.
Lame’s TikTok idea came to him while wandering around the housing project where his family lived in Chivasso, near Turin, after losing his factory mechanic’s job in March 2020, on the cusp of the coronavirus pandemic.
His posts took off — helping him gross an estimated $16.5 million through marketing deals with companies in the period between June 2022 and September 2023, according to Forbes.
In the US, TikTok technically became banned under a federal law requiring Chinese parent ByteDance to sell its stake to a party based in a country that is not a “foreign adversary.” TikTok shut down the app in the U.S. on Jan. 18 ahead of the law’s deadline (and it was removed from Apple and Google app stores) but the company restored service to U.S. users the next day citing incoming President Trump’s pledge to not enforce the ban while he seeks to broker a solution keeping the app legal. Trump on Jan. 20 issued an executive order instructing the U.S. attorney general to abstain for a 75-day period from enforcing the federal law, which criminalizes the hosting and distribution of TikTok unless ByteDance has divested its ownership.
Asked about the possibility that TikTok will be banned in the U.S., Lame provided the following statement: “TikTok has given me a way to share my humor and creativity with the world, and I want to see it stay accessible for everyone who loves it as much as I do. That said, I’ve always believed that great content can transcend platforms. Whether it’s TikTok, Instagram, or any other space, I’ll keep finding ways to make people smile.”
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