Khaby Lame, marriage already ended with model Wendy Thembelihle Juel
The announcement was made by Nicola Paparusso, manager of Khabane: "Incompatible characters"
ROME – Khaby Lame, the TikToker with 162 million followers who, thanks to his contagious and universal mimicry, was defined by Forbes as the “Charlie Chaplin of ‘digital era”, has separated from his wife, the model of South African origins Wendy Thembelihle Juel.
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The announcement was made by Nicola Paparusso, manager of Khabane, marketing and communications expert and historic friend of the Lame family. During an interview given in Los Angeles, Paparusso said that he wanted to start his client’s film career with determination and on that occasion he declared that unfortunately the couple had separated. The news leaves Khaby’s followers dismayed, given that the marriage dates back to just a year ago, but the manager explained that it is an unexpected and unfortunately incurable character incompatibility > between the two socialites. “The separation” – explains the manager – “It does not require a civil procedure as their marriage was celebratedexclusively with the Muslim religious rite”.
80 MILLION FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM
The divorce overshadows a particularly brilliant moment for the digital creator who has around 80 million followers on Instagram and who in September 2023 Forbes listed in eleventh place in the ranking of the 50 Top Creators and to whom he dedicated the cover while in December the seventh edition of Variety500, the index of the 500 most influential business leaders in the media sector selected by the Variety editorial committee, placed him in the top places. There were also glossy moments such as the invitation to the Oscar Night and the videos with Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise to name a few. In this 2024, always supported by his manager, Khaby spent a long time in the United States where he attended the Grammy Awards, the Oscars and the 58th edition of the Super Bowl.
IN THE USA HE IS AN IDOL
Undisputed American idol, the creator also took part in a Super Bowl advertising campaign for the insurance giant State Farm. Also in America, filming began on the film 00 Khaby, an international Action Comedy which sees him as the protagonist and which is produced by Marco Belardi, a pillar of Italian cinema who has made over 50 films including Perfect Strangers by Paolo Genovese, which entered the Guinness World Record as the film with the most remakes in the history of cinema, La pazza Gioia by Paolo Virzì, At Home tutti bene by Gabriele Muccino, which later became a successful series for Sky, the series Leoni di Sicilia produced with Disney + and many other productions with Netflix and Amazon.
Regarding his film debut, the TikToker underlines: “Acting has always been my dream, but I don’t want to improvise. This is why I am furthering my acting and English studies to best interpret this film. II’m physically training a lot because, as I asked Marco Belardi, in the action scenes I don’t want to be replaced by a stuntman. In these days, in Los Angeles, I met Will Smith, whom I have always respected and who gave me some advice on how to move in front of the camera“.
Marco Belardi adds: “A unique synergy was created from the first meeting with Khaby. We are both dreamers who embark on a new challenge. I proposed an idea to him that highlights his mimic and creative qualities and he immediately accepted“.
Nicola Paparusso concludes: “To manage Khabane’s management, ability is not enough, you need respect and profound knowledge of its culture and origins. I have been frequenting the Lame family for years and his father is a close friend of mine, which is why my relationship with Khaby is not that of manager to artist, but of father and son. He is a brilliant boy who has made gestures his business card and who from 2021 to today has become a global icon. His desire is to work hard to make himself known as an actor and this experience with Marco Belardi is an excellent starting point“.