Earlier this year, it was reported that TikTok star Khabane ‘Khaby’ Lame became the most followed person on the platform.
“Khabane “Khaby” Lame has dethroned Charli D’Amelio and set a new Guinness World Record as the most followed person on TikTok,” PEOPLE reported in June 2022.
“Khabane “Khaby” Lame has overtaken Charli D’Amelio as the most-followed person on TikTok by clocking a record-breaking 142.8 million followers, according to Guinness World Records.”
The 22-year-old Senegalese-born Italian joined TikTok in 2020 during COVID times after being laid off from his job at a factory. He currently has 152.3 million followers on TikTok.
His videos mostly feature him either silently mocking other TikTokers or doing ‘life hacks.’
“I am passionate about entertaining and making people laugh since childhood, and I am thankful to TikTok for offering me a global stage to share my passion with the rest of the world,” Khaby said in a statement in 2021 after crossing 100 million followers. “I will continue to work towards my dreams, knowing I can count on a beautiful community ready to cheer me on. Thank you and I love you all!”
In an interview with HYPEBEAST, khaby revealed that he made YouTube videos as a kid, and only his dad and uncle would watch those videos.
“I made videos on YouTube as a child, but only my father and uncle watched them. And it was with TikTok that I realized that I had found the ideal platform for me to upload my self-deprecating and comic videos,” he said.
“I like to entertain people with my irony, but it’s just a tool to do what I’m really interested in — encouraging those who follow me to fight to achieve their goals,” he added.
Recently another TikToker, Bella Poarch, has been gaining popularity on the video-sharing platform and gaining hundreds of followers every day.
Poarch’s videos mainly include her lip-syncing songs while doing daily chores or pulling funny stunts. The 25-year-old music enthusiast also launched her music career, which she promotes on her account.
The interesting thing to note here is that Poarch, although way behind Khaby in the number of followers as she currently has 92.4 million people on her account, receives almost the same number of likes on her videos as the Italian TikToker.
According to Social Blade, Lame is ranked number 1 on the list of Top 50 Most Followed TikTok Accounts, with 2.5 billion likes on his account, where he has shared nearly 1100 videos. At the same time, Bella is number 3 and has received 2.2 billion likes with only 538 videos.
On Number 2 stands Charli D’Amelio, the Queen of TikTok before Khaby dethroned her in June. Charlie has 148.7 million followers on her TikTok and has shared 2338 videos, gaining 11.2 billion likes.
She is only 18 and was the first ever influencer on TikTok, reaching 50 million and then 100 million followers on the platform.
“Everything that I know from learning how to be confident with myself to figuring out my style and what I love about myself,” Charli told PEOPLE.
She added, “I feel like, through every step of the way, I’m very thankful to have my mom and my parents in general, just always uplifting me.”
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Sources: HYPEBEAST – Social Blade – PEOPLE