Khaby Lame, the Senegalese-born Italian social media personality who is the world’s most followed content creator on TikTok, has joined “Italia’s Got Talent” as a juror.
Lame is a former factory worker in Italy who after being laid off from his job in March 2020 launched a TikTok channel in which he performed absurdly comic skits that went wildly viral.
The TikTok star whose comedy bits started with ironic takes on “life hacks” relies on iconic facial expressions and body language in videos delivered without speaking so that the humor is understood universally. The short-form comedy video virtuoso, who has more than 154 million followers on TikTok, will now be making his debut as an Italian TV personality on the hit talent show.
“Italia’s Got Talent,” however, will not mark Lame’s debut as a juror. Lame in 2022 was a member of the Cannes Film Festival’s #TikTokShortFilm jury, a global in-app competition of vertical shorts. Presiding over that jury was Cambodian auteur Rithy Panh (“The Missing Picture”).
The upcoming edition of “Italia’s Got Talent” has moved from pay-TV operator Sky to to Disney+ in Italy, marking the first instance in which the hit Fremantle format will play on a streaming platform in Europe.
Khaby Lame is joining the upcoming edition of “Italia’s Got Talent” as a new jury member alongside pop singer and TV personality Elettra Lamborghini, who is the granddaughter of Italian automaker Ferruccio Lamborghini. Returning jurors on the show are Mara Maionchi, who is a record-producer-turned-TV personality, and Italian-American comedian, actor and YouTuber Frank Matano.
Comedians Aurora and Fru, who are members of The Jackal a group of Neapolitan comics who gained popularity on YouTube, will be hosting the 2023 edition of “Italia’s Got Talent,” auditions for which have started in the southern Italian city of Avellino, near Naples. The exact playdate on Disney+ is still being kept under wraps.
