Lame has almost 150 million followers on TikTok.

Khaby Lame, the most followed TikToker in the world, received Italian citizenship at a ceremony on Wednesday in the northern town of Chivasso near Turin where he grew up.

Born in Senegal, the 22-year-old Lame has lived in Italy since he was a baby and says he has "always felt Italian", however he retained his Senagalese passport and was not an Italian citizen until today.

After swearing "to be loyal to the Republic and to observe the Constitution and the laws of the state", a visibly moved Lame told reporters he was "very proud" and felt "a great responsibility for the oath I took".

• Khaby Lame: Italy is home to king of TikTok

With more than 14.5 million followers on TikTok, Lame has enjoyed meteoric success on the social media platform due to his wildly popular videos, including his ironic takes on "life hacks".

After losing his job in a factory at the start of the covid pandemic, Lame turned to TikTok during lockdown and developed his natural gift of making people laugh.

He relies on comedic facial expressions and heavy use of irony in his videos most of which are delivered without speaking, meaning the humour is understood universally.

Earlier this summer he overtook the American social media personality Charli D'Amelio as the world's biggest TikTok star.

At the time he complained about not having Italian citizenship, stating that as the holder of a Senegalese passport it was more difficult for him to visit the US where he had missed several events over delays in getting a visa.