Khaby Lame, TikTok’s most followed star, granted Italian citizenship

Khaby Lame, the most followed TikTok star in the world, has been granted Italian citizenship at the age of 22, despite having lived in the country since he was a young child.

Senegal-born Lame, who has more than 148 million followers and was raised near Turin, is known for making funny mute videos.

Lame, who still has a Senegalese passport, told the press that he was “very proud” of his new citizenship and felt “a great responsibility” for the oaths he has taken, according to the Guardian newspaper.

In the citizenship ceremony, which took place on Wednesday, Lame said he had always felt Italian: “Very little has changed,”the Euro News site quotes him as saying.

Lame turned to TikTok after losing his job in a factory when Italy went into lockdown at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, going on to attract nearly 150 million followers so far with his videos in which he mocks viral content with his trademark exasperated expression. BBC News