In an interview with CNN, the world’s biggest TikToker, Khaby Lame, revealed the reason why he chooses silence over speech.
Khaby Lame, one of TikTok‘s most prominent figures.
The influencer has amassed a staggering following of 162.9 million users and 2.5 billion likes.
However, many viewers were stunned after realizing that he said almost nothing at all in his videos.
With his unique and silent approach to content creation, Lame has become a global sensation.
He captivated audiences with his expressive gestures and simple reactions.
The silent approach
Khaby Lame’s rise to fame began during the COVID-19 pandemic. After losing his factory job, he turned to TikTok to fill his time.
His content initially included dancing, video game reactions, and comedy skits.
However, he soon found his niche in a distinctive form of communication—silence.
Lame’s videos typically feature him reacting to overly complicated life hacks and other internet trends with a simple shrug, a dismissive gesture, or a facial expression.
However, many viewers were stunned after realizing that he spoke almost nothing at all in his videos.
With 2.5 billion likes, his silent reactions resonate deeply with viewers.
The truth behind Khaby Lame’s slience in his video.
In a 2022 interview with CNN, Khaby explained the rationale behind his silent persona.
He described his content as a visual representation of the term “shaking my head” (SMH).
His slience aimed at simplifying and mocking unnecessarily complex life hacks.
“I came up with the idea because I was seeing these videos circulating, and I liked the idea of bringing some simplicity to it,” Khaby said. “The type of gesture came by chance, but the silence didn’t. I thought of a way to reach as many people as possible, and the best way was not to speak.”
His approach leverages the universal language of facial expressions.
This makes his content accessible to a global audience, regardless of language barriers.
“Maybe because my facial expressions are funny and they make people laugh, this simplicity makes people laugh and I love it,” he added.
Khaby Lame’s unique content strategy paid off in a major way.
In 2022, he surpassed Charli D’Amelio to become TikTok’s most-followed account.
Despite his immense popularity, Khaby emphasizes that his primary motivation is not the number of followers or likes.
Instead, it is the joy of making people laugh.
“I don’t care if I’m first or second, or fourth most popular on TikTok. I started making videos because I wanted to make people laugh during the lockdown,”
Khaby explained. “And I keep making videos with the same ideals. I’m happy about my accomplishments, but those are not my main things.”
Looking to the future, Khaby has ambitious plans.
He aspires to work with Hollywood star Will Smith, who is among his fans.