--- description: Find out why Khabane Lame is one of the 100 most influential digital voices of 2025. title: Khabane Lame: TIME100 Creators 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97abc9e8dfb3f176/6998c81466d4e36dafcbca1f/TIME100-Creators-2025-Khabane-Lame-014.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Jul 09, 2025 # Khabane Lame @khaby.lame by [Shannon Carlin](/author/shannon-carlin/) ## Shannon Carlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Carlin is a contributor for TIME.  Marijan Murat—picture alliance/Getty Images After losing his factory job in Italyduring the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, [Khabane “Khaby” Lame](https://time.com/6218223/khaby-lame-ngl/ "undefined") (pronounced Lah-MAY) started making comedy clips parodying TikTok’s most popular “life hack” videos. Often likened to a Gen-Z Charlie Chaplin, the Senegalese-born Italian social media personality usesno words—only his expressive, often exasperated face—to highlight the absurdity of videos that claim to simplify everyday tasks but only end up overcomplicating things. His deadpan responses to tutorials on how to [park a car in Amsterdam](https://time.com/6218223/khaby-lame-ngl/ "undefined"), [peel a banana](https://www.tiktok.com/@khaby.lame/video/6950627842518568197?lang=en "undefined"), and [do the dishes without getting wet](https://www.tiktok.com/@khaby.lame/video/7223746480698330394?lang=en "undefined") helped him dethrone Charli D’Amelio for the title of TikTok’s most-followed creator in 2022; he’s still on top and now has more than 162 million [followers](https://www.tiktok.com/@khaby.lame?lang=en "undefined") on the platform. Although Lame made his name breaking language barriers with silence, fans may soon hear his voice on the big screen; the 25-year-old is slated to make his acting debut in an English-language spy comedy, in the role of a food delivery worker who’s recruited by the CIA. Speaking or not, Lame is proof positive that comedy is auniversal language. _Data and insights powered by #paid_ Khabane Lame Is on the 2025 TIME100 Creators List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299147/khaby-lame/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299147/khaby-lame/"},"headline":"Khabane Lame","datePublished":"2025-07-09T11:16:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:50:26.219Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299147/khaby-lame/","keywords":["Social Media","list","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97abc9e8dfb3f176/6998c81466d4e36dafcbca1f/TIME100-Creators-2025-Khabane-Lame-014.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shannon Carlin","jobTitle":"Carlin is a contributor for TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/shannon-carlin/"}],"creator":"Shannon Carlin","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97abc9e8dfb3f176/6998c81466d4e36dafcbca1f/TIME100-Creators-2025-Khabane-Lame-014.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299147/khaby-lame/","name":"Khabane Lame"}}]}] ```