TikTok Star Khaby Lame Appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

variety.com:

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Khaby Lame, the most-followed creator on TikTok, has been named UNICEF’s newest Goodwill Ambassador.

In his role as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Lame will use his global platforms to help raise awareness of children’s rights across the world, including education and training, empowering girls, protection from violence and abuse, and access to health, nutrition and a clean environment, the U.N.

agency announced Friday. The 24-year-old Senegalese-born Italian social media personality rose to fame on TikTok — where he currently has more than 162 million followers — with his trademark wordless comedic reaction videos. “It’s a true honor to be appointed as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and be part of an organization that puts children’s rights front and center every day,” Lame said in a statement. “From my own experience as a child fearing poverty, struggling to find my passion at school, and losing my job during the COVID-19 pandemic, to finding my place and calling in the world, I know that all children can thrive when they are given a chance and opportunity.” In the U.S., as of Jan.

19, TikTok technically became banned under a federal law requiring Chinese parent ByteDance to sell its stake to a party based in a country that is not a “foreign adversary.” TikTok shut down the app in the U.S.