Comedian Sued For $27 Million Over 'The Lion King' Joke
Authored by Jacki Thrapp via The Epoch Times,
Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Jonasi, who went viral for discussing the opening song of “The Lion King” on a podcast, was sued for $27 million by one of the film’s composers, Lebohang Morake.
Lebo M. attends the UK Premiere of Disney's "Mufasa: The Lion King" at Cineworld Leicester Square in London, England, on Dec. 11, 2024. Kate Green/Getty Images for The Walt Disney Company Limited
“I can’t believe I’m getting sued for telling a joke,” Jonasi confirmed in an Instagram video. “What kind of stupid world do we live in?”
The stand-up comic was served the lawsuit while performing a set at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, according to a video he shared on his social media on March 24.
“I now have a gluten allergy, anxiety, I got served, I’m now American!” Jonasi exclaimed after receiving the yellow envelope with legal documents on stage.
Jonasi has started selling shirts featuring his joke and has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for legal expenses.
As of March 28, he had raised $20,118, exceeding his $20,000 goal, to get a lawyer.
“I am a passionate creator who never intended harm, but I now face overwhelming legal fees just to defend my right to speak and tell jokes,” Jonasi wrote on his GoFundMe page.
“The total cost for my defense is beyond my means, and I need your help.”
The comedian appeared in a now-viral episode of the “One54 Africa” podcast on Feb. 25, where he was asked to translate the opening lyrics of the iconic “Circle of Life” track.
The song started with the lyrics “Nants’ ingonyama bagithi Baba, Sithi huu ngonyama” which are sung in Zulu, a language of Southern Africa, according to court documents.
Jonasi told the podcast that the English transcription of the lyrics meant “Look, there’s a lion! Oh my God.”
“You’re joking?” podcast co-host Akbar Gbajabiamila asked. “That is not what that means. That is not what that means.”
“That’s exactly what it means,” Jonasi replied.
The lawsuit, filed by Morake in a California court on March 16, claimed the translated lyrics actually meant “All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king.”
The complaint accused the comedian of presenting it as fact rather than comedy, but noted that one word could be considered a “lion” depending on its translation.
“While ‘ingonyama’ can literally translate to ‘lion’ in Zulu, in Praise Imbongi and royal metaphor, ‘Ngonyama or Ingonyama’ signifies Kingship, Ancestral Authority, and Sovereign Presence,” the lawsuit stated.
“The lion is the metaphorical vehicle; the meaning is royalty. Jonasi’s reduction to ‘Look, there’s a lion. Oh my god’ is not a simplified translation—it is a fabricated, trivializing distortion, meant as a sick joke for unlawful self-profit and destruction of the imaginative and artistic work of Lebo M.”
The comedian is accused of False Designation of Origin and Unfair Competition under the Lanham Act, Defamation, Injurious Falsehood, and Tortious Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage, according to the complaint reviewed by The Epoch Times.
The Grammy-winning South African composer, who filed for bankruptcy in 2017, is demanding a jury trial.
Disney and other composers in the film are not listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Morake is credited as a vocal arranger, choir director, and performer on the soundtracks for Disney’s 1994 “The Lion King,” the 1997 Broadway cast recording of the stage musical, and the 2019 revival.
He won a Grammy award for “Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocals” for the “Circle of Life” in 1995.