Viral sensation and TikTok star Khaby Lame shockingly detained in the US
Topics: Immigration, Met Gala, Social Media, TikTok, US News
Joe Yates
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Chelsea Guglielmino
Topics: Immigration, Met Gala, Social Media, TikTok, US News
TikTok star Khaby Lame was detained in the US for violating immigration rules over the weekend.
The Italian influencer boasts of more than 162 million followers on the platform, along with 2.5 billion likes, making him the most followed account on the planet - but that didn't stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holding him as he attempted to leave the country on Friday, June 6.
Lame, who is Senegalese-born, had arrived in the US on April 30 in preparation for the Met Gala, which took place on May 5, having collaborated with Hugo Boss who suited him up for the event.
However, his trip went downhill from there - or at least it did from the moment he attempted to depart from Las Vegas.
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In a statement issued to AFP, ICE confirmed: "US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Seringe Khabane Lame, 25, a citizen of Italy, June 6, at the Harry Reid International Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada for immigration violations.
The agency went on to explain how he was held for 'overstaying the terms of his visa', but that the UNICEF goodwill ambassador was released the same day and 'has since departed the US'.
Lame hasn't addressed the issue online, suggesting it was merely a slight hiccup in his famed life, and even took to TikTok yesterday to post a promotional video of him pretending to mine like a character from Minecraft, with Tony the Tiger of Kelloggs.
Five years ago Lame's life was stark contrast to what it is today, having only began posting content to the platform in 2020 after losing his job working in a factory during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking to Today last year, he explained: "I started during the pandemic when I lost my job. I started to make happy videos on social media, but was never thinking that they were gonna grow like this, you know?
"I was just making videos to make people happy."
When asked whether he knew what it was about his videos that made people all around the world love them, he replied: "I think people like my videos for the expression, for the simplicity there, because it's a simple video.
"And then the effect that I don't talk is a universal language. All the people can understand and be part of the comedy without having words. They just have to watch the video and enjoy it."
Other than his attendance at Met Gala, he also posted a video of him donning a Los Angeles Lakers jersey, sporting Kobe Bryant on the back.