Khabane Lame overtakes Charli D’Amelio as world’s most followed TikTok star

Senegalese comedian, Khabane Lame has officially become the most followed TikTok star in the world.

The 22-year-old who posts under the name @khaby.lame surpassed the American star on Thursday, June 23.

The 18-year-old dancer has 142.2 million followers, while Khaby jumped to 142.5 million overnight.

The Italy-based star joined the platform in March 2020 during the pandemic.

After joining the platform in 2019, Charli had become the most followed account with her viral dance routines.

By 2020 she had got over 100 million fans.

TikTok stated, “In less than 18 months, Charli has grown into one of the most recognized and beloved TikTok creators in the world.

“While we’re extremely proud of Charli and all that she has accomplished since she shared her first TikTok video in May 2019.”

TikTok also announced it would be donating $100,000 in Charli’s name to American Dance Movement, an organisation aimed at increasing access to dance education in the US.

In March 2020, during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Khabane lost his job and moved back in with his parents.

He capitalized on the lockdown and set up a TikTok account and quickly climbed his way to the top of the platform.

Speaking to Forbes the star said: ‘The pandemic had just started, and I was bored with a lot of time on my hands so I started making videos on TikTok.’