Khaby Lame, the world’s most-followed TikToker, was briefly detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last week for an alleged over visa violation.
The 25-year-old influencer was taken into custody June 6 at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, ICE confirmed in a statement to USA TODAY. Lame, who was born in Senegal and is a citizen of Italy, entered the United States on April 30 and was found to have “overstayed the terms of his visa,” the agency said.
He was granted voluntary departure and has since left the country, according to USA TODAY.
Lame rose to global fame with his silent reaction videos that poke fun at overly complicated “life hack” clips. He has more than 160 million followers on TikTok.
In May, he walked the red carpet at the 2025 Met Gala in a custom gray zoot suit that honored the night’s theme of Black dandyism. He is also an ambassador for fashion brand Boss, blockchain platform Binance, and UNICEF.
As of Monday, Lame’s team had not publicly commented on the incident.
His brief detention comes amid a tense political climate. In Los Angeles, protests erupted in response to recent immigration raids. President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard to the city sparked backlash from state and local leaders.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the deployment a “chaotic escalation.”
“The fear people are feeling in our city right now is very real—it’s felt in our communities and within our families, and it puts our neighborhoods at risk,” she said. “This is the last thing our city needs.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom also condemned the move, calling it “a serious breach of state sovereignty” and is urging the Trump administration to withdraw.