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With his Buster Keaton-esque looks, the young Italian has conquered TikTok. The one who worked a series of odd jobs before finding himself laid off at the start of the Covid pandemic has become the most followed TikToker in the world. A misfortune that he has managed to transform into global success. Stuck between his four walls, he begins to produce funny, wordless short videos. What flops on YouTube will be a winner on TikTok.
The principle is always the same. Khaby Lame demonstrates in mime the absurdity of certain videos that are proliferating on the Web, where crazy inventions offer complicated solutions to simple things. Like peeling a banana with a knife. Without saying a word and with a sorry face and wide eyes, Khaby Lame makes people smile without borders. He now has nearly 162 million subscribers to his refreshing TikTok channel.
From TikTok to the dark rooms
His programs probably appeal to the algorithm of the video social network, which pushes those that benefit from a high viewing time. In other words, that we watch from start to finish. The narrative construction of Khaby Lame’s videos is effective in this. His gesture, palms turned upside down, made at the end of each of them has become a gimmick, a trademark.
In 2023, his small business generated more than $16 million in revenue. He has also become a celebrity with sympathetic capital to whom Mark Zuckerberg or Snoop Dogg send “likes” and whom a star like Will Smith invited to appear in his latest film. Khaby Lame is currently filming for a leading role this time. The beginning of a career on the big screen?
La Story is a podcast from Les Echos presented by Pierrick Fay. This episode was recorded in July 2024. Editor-in-chief: Clémence Lemaistre. Guest: Gabriel Grésillon (investigator at Les Echos). Director: Willy Ganne. Music: Théo Boulenger. Graphic identity: Upian. Photo: Maria Laura Antonelli/AGF/SIPA. Sounds: Johnny Hallyday “L’idole des jeunes” (1962), INA, Khaby. Lame, Bovann “Tanz wie Khaby Lame” (2022), France 24, Xbox.
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