Keith Lee Named Creator of the Year at First US TikTok Awards as ByteDance Reshapes Ownership
Lee wins top prize at the inaugural US TikTok Awards as the platform's parent company negotiates a major deal to reorganize its U.S. operations.
Keith Lee was named Creator of the Year at the inaugural TikTok Awards in the United States, a fan-voted ceremony held at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. The event, hosted by TV personality La La Anthony, honored creators across fourteen categories with logo-shaped trophies, recognizing the platform’s most influential voices of the year.
Presenters included Paris Hilton and U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles, and the celebration featured a night-long lineup of performances and spotlights on the app’s talent. The ceremony drew a live audience and was streamed on TikTok and Tubi. The same night, TikTok's parent company ByteDance announced binding agreements for the majority of its U.S. business with investors, a move that would restructure ownership of the platform in America. Under the deal, ByteDance would retain 19.9% of the U.S. business, while Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi’s MGX would hold 15% each. About 30.1% would be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, and the agreement is slated to close on Jan. 22. TikTok said the arrangement would enable over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community.
The show highlighted a roster of winners beyond Lee. Jeremiah Brown, known on TikTok as @findjeremiah, won the Rising Star of the Year award, while Tini Younger (@tinekeyounger) took home Storyteller of the Year. Bretman Sacayanan (@bretmanrock) was awarded Video of the Year for a clip that featured a flock of chickens set to Doechii’s “Anxiety.” The TikTok for Good award went to the Valentine brothers, Zach and Pat.
The ceremony also featured performances from R&B star Ciara, and a live appearance by Mr Fantasy, an online persona that has led some observers to speculate it could be the alter ego of Riverdale actor KJ Apa. The event’s timing coincided with ByteDance’s efforts to gain U.S. governmental and investor approval for a major sale of its U.S. operations, a development that has dominated tech and entertainment coverage around the awards.
A correction note appended to the story clarified that Bethenny Frankel was not among the presenters.
Taken together, the awards reflect TikTok’s expanding cultural footprint in the United States as the company seeks to align its business with regulatory expectations and investor interests while continuing to spotlight creator-driven content across genres and communities.