Khaby Lame, a 22-year-old from Senegalese origin, who goes from factory worker to phenomenon, became the new owner of the social media platform TikTok. Lame, who produces content where he tries practical life videos that make life easier on TikTok, surpassed the US TikTok star Charli D’Amelio, also known as the richest queen of TikTok, in terms of the number of followers. Khaby Lame, the most followed person on TikTok, is currently on the agenda with his inability to obtain Italian citizenship.
“I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR 20 YEARS TO BE ITALIAN, THE KING OF TICTOK”
According to the news of BBC Turkish, Khaby Lame, who moved with his family from Senegal to Italy at the age of 1 and could not obtain citizenship due to strict citizenship laws despite living and studying here for about 21 years, expressed this situation in an interview with La Repubblica newspaper. “It’s not fair that someone who has lived and grown up in Italian culture all these years and is clean still doesn’t have citizenship,” Lame said. La Repubblica published Lame’s words with the caption, “I, the king of TikTok, have been waiting 20 years to be Italian.”
Following these words of the TikTok star, who has more than 140 million followers, Carlo Sibilia, Undersecretary of the Italian Ministry of Interior, shared a message on Twitter stating that Lame’s citizenship application was accepted and that he could soon receive Italian citizenship with an oath ceremony. However, this message was not received positively by some segments.
REACTIONS TO THE MESSAGE
Carlo Sibilia’s message drew backlash. Respondents said that Lame should not receive special treatment as she has millions of followers. Thereupon, Lame emphasized that he did not only want his problem to be solved, but that the citizenship rights laws that concern about 1 million children and youth in Italy should be changed.
According to the current laws in Italy, children born in Italy can automatically obtain citizenship only if one of the parents is Italian. Children with both foreign parents can apply for citizenship only after they turn 18, but the length of waiting periods after this application can lead to complaints.
DIFFERENCE WITH THE NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS
As of June 27, Charli D’Amelio has more than 142 million followers, while Khaby Lame, the most followed person on TikTok, has more than 144 million followers.