Introducing Endless Mode: A New Games & Anime Site from Paste
The banality of evil grew ever more present in America today as The New York Times reports that ICE briefly detained Khaby Lame, the world’s most popular TikToker, after another social media influencer reported him to authorities. Khaby Lame (pronounced Lah-may) is an Italian-Seneglese TikToker known for silent comedy videos. Like many TikTokers, he stitches himself into other clips, reacting to life hacks, viral videos, and sketches with a deadpan, exasperated expression. Born in Senegal, his family moved to Italy when he was a toddler. After being laid off from his factory job in March 2020, he discovered TikTok and grew his online presence to 162 million followers. It’s precisely the type of story that the myth of the American meritocracy is built on, and yet, for one 18-year-old Trump-loving X user, it simply would not stand.
Lame had been in the U.S. since April 30 and had overstayed his visa, according to a statement from ICE. On June 6, ICE detained Lame at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, and X user Bo Loudon took credit for reporting him. “BREAKING: Far-left ILLEGAL ALIEN TikToker Khaby Lame was just ARRESTED and is now in ICE custody under President Trump,” Loudon wrote in a post that simply did not do numbers. “I discovered he was an illegal who overstayed an invalid VISA, evaded taxes, and I personally took action to have him deported. No one is above the law!” How Loudon learned of Lame’s tax status, whether he’s telling the truth, or how an 18-year-old came to take pride in snitching to cops is still unclear.
In an interview with streamer Dylan Page, Loudon, whose social media consists of pledging fealty to the President of the United States, something only the coolest teens do these days, said he learned that Lame was in the country illegally by “a few of my friends” who had worked with the TikToker. Loudon then “called some buddies in the administration” and alerted them to Lame’s immigration status. “I’ve never seen anything happen so quick.” Friends? Buddies? Sorry, pal, we’re not buying it. No one this obsessed with a 78-year-old reality star-turned-politician has friends. The kids really aren’t alright.
If there’s a sliver of a silver lining, it’s that ICE allowed Lame to leave the country of his own volition and did not deport him to one of its mega prisons in El Salvador. Lame has yet to release a statement on his detainment, but he’s already returned to posting sponsored content. His latest video features a cameo from Tony the Tiger in a video pushing both Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Minecraft, so at least we know that mega conglomerates like Kellogg’s aren’t afraid to work with ICE targets.
