Khaby Lame dethrones Charli D’Amelio on TikTok – TechCrunch

Just in time for VidCon TikTok has a brand new most popular creator on the platform: Khaby Lame, a 22-year-old from Senegal who rose to fame by stitching and dueting other TikToks, wordlessly fixing viral “life hacks” that didn’t initially work.

As of yesterday, Khaby Lame has 142.7 million followers, eclipsing longtime leading TikTok creator Charli D’Amelio to take the number one spot.

D’Amelio spoke on a panel with Lightricks at VidCon today, but she wasn’t upset about losing her No. 1 title — after all, it’s just a matter of bragging rights.

“I had No. 1, for two years. It’s time for someone else to have that spot, and I’m proud of him. He’s a friend, and there’s no bad blood,” Charli D’Amelio saidOn the VidCon stage. “It feels great to know that someone else is getting that spot — someone that is sweet and a good person and loves what they do.”

She also told the crowd at VidCon that she has 2,400 TikTok drafts — the mystery!

But for creators to make the big bucks, it’s not just about the followers. It’s how you leverage them.

Charli D’Amelio, her sister Dixie D’Amelio and their parents have spun up a media empire, complete with a Hulu reality show, a clothing line with Hollister, numerous brand deals and a Snap original show of their own. The D’Amelio sisters and their parents have also become venture capitalists themselves, investing in FaceTune maker Lightricks. Black creators have been gaining fame even as TikTokers such as Lame rise in popularity noticeably missing from Forbes’ highest-paid influencer list. Charli D’Amelio sits at No. 1. She has $17.5 million in annual earnings, while Dixie is making $10 million.

These disparities have been addressed by platforms like Snapchat, Patreon, which offer incubator programs for BIPOC founders that provide mentorship, additional capital, production resources, and more upfront capital.

T-Series, an Indian record label/film company, has surpassed the 200 million mark in terms of overall followers across all platforms. For now — until TikTok rolls out better monetization options for creators — most opportunities to capitalize on the fame built there happen off-platform.

Update, June 23, 2:10 p.m. PDT: Charli D’Amelio did address Khaby Lame passing her in follower count. A quote was added.