Keith Lee wins top prize at first TikTok Awards in US

December 19, 2025

TikTok held its first-ever awards ceremony in the United States at the Hollywood Palladium, where Keith Lee received the top honor of Creator of the Year through fan voting. The event featured fourteen award categories recognizing various content creators, with celebrities like Paris Hilton serving as presenters and performances by artists including Ciara. The timing of the ceremony was notable as it coincided with ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, reaching agreements to sell majority control of its American operations to investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and an Emirati firm.

Who is affected

Keith Lee and other award winners (Jeremiah Brown, Tini Younger, Zach and Pat Valentine, Bretman Sacayanan)
TikTok content creators across fourteen award categories
Over 170 million American TikTok users
ByteDance (TikTok's Chinese owner)
Investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, MGX, and existing ByteDance investor affiliates
The live audience at the Hollywood Palladium and viewers streaming on TikTok and Tubi

What action is being taken

TikTok is hosting its inaugural awards ceremony with fan voting
The ceremony is being streamed on TikTok and Tubi
ByteDance is signing binding agreements with US and global investors
The deal is being structured with specific ownership percentages among various parties

Why it matters

This matters because it represents a significant milestone for TikTok as a platform legitimizing content creators through formal recognition, while simultaneously addressing critical national security concerns that threatened the app's existence in the United States. The sale of majority control to American and international investors allows the platform to continue serving its massive American user base while satisfying Washington's demands to reduce Chinese ownership and control of the social media application.

What's next

The deal is set to close on January 22nd, which will finalize the ownership transfer and enable TikTok to continue operating in the United States under the new ownership structure.

Read full article from source: BBC