Khaby Lame takes on new role as judge of ‘Italia’s Got Talent’

Most-followed TikToker Khaby Lame has already become a spokesman, fashion model, and NFT creator. For his next act, the 22-year-old supernova will serve as a judge on the 13th season of Italia’s Got Talent.

Lame will be one of four panelists for the upcoming entry in the Got Talent franchise. The Italian version of the show first aired in 2009, three years after America’s Got Talent premiered on NBC. For its thirteenth season, Italia’s Got Talent is moving to Disney+. According to Variety, this is the first time a Got Talent format will premiere on a streaming service in Europe.

As Italia’s Got Talent trends toward digital distribution, it is inviting Italy’s biggest TikTok personality to join the fun. Lame will need more than his trademark shrug to be an effective judge. While he may not speak in his videos, he has become an outspoken public figure in Italy. When he became an Italian citizen last year, he called out the slow speed of his naturalization.

Lame will have plenty of company on the Italia’s Got Talent panel. The other new judge is Elettra Lamborghini the granddaughter of legendary automaker Ferruccio Lamborghini. The returning judges are record producer Mara Maionchi and one-time YouTube star Frank Matano.

This will not be the first time Lame has sat as part of an entertainment-industry jury. At the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, the Senegal-born star was one of the judges for the #TikTokShortFilm contest, which looked to celebrate outstanding short-form filmmaking. The competition ran into major trouble when the president of its jury accused TikTok of meddling with the results.

Here’s hoping Lame’s next bit of judging experience goes better than his first. Disney+ still hasn’t set an official release date for the new Italia’s Got Talent season, though auditions are currently underway. Whenever Lame does get his chance to share his opinions, his fans can expect impartial decisions. Days before his new gig was revealed, Lame donned a “Prof. Khaby” persona on TikTok and showed his 155 million followers that he does not condone cheating.

@khaby.lame You can’t cheat Prof. Khaby👨🏾‍🏫. #learnfromkhaby ♬ suono originale – Khabane lame

If I were Khaby Lame, I’d bring back the professor jacket for the Italia’s Got Talent debut. TikTok’s favorite silent comedian has Hollywood ambitions, and his new gig can take him toward that goal.