A Grammy-winning South African composer, Lebohang Morake, known as Lebo M, is suing a Zimbabwean comedian for allegedly damaging his reputation by intentionally misrepresenting the meaning of the iconic opening chant from Disney’s The Lion King.
Mr Morake, who wrote and performed the memorable "Circle of Life" chant, has filed a lawsuit against comedian Learnmore Mwanyenyeka, known as Learnmore Jonasi. The legal action accuses Mr Jonasi of deliberately mistranslating the Zulu and Xhosa lyrics, which are central to the 1994 The Lion King composer sues comedian for mocking iconic chant, its stage adaptations, and the 2019 remake. The dispute has gained significant traction online, with both men engaging on social media.
The lawsuit, lodged this month in a Los Angeles federal court, where Mr Morake resides and Mr Jonasi recently performed, claims the comedian intentionally mocked "the chant’s cultural significance with exaggerated imitations."
Disney’s official translation of the opening phrase, "Nants’ingonyama bagithi Baba," is "All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king." Mr Morake states that the subsequent line, "Hay! baba, sizongqoba," translates to "Through you we will emerge victoriously."
However, during an episode of the podcast One54, cited in the lawsuit, Mr Jonasi offered a different interpretation. After correcting the Nigerian hosts’ incoherent rendition of the chant, he sang the correct Zulu lyrics and translated them as: "Look, there’s a lion. Oh my god." The hosts reacted with laughter, admitting they had previously believed the chant to be something more "beautiful and majestic."
Mr Jonasi’s comments emerged within a broader critique of The Lion King franchise, which he argues profits from simplistic narratives about the African continent for non-African audiences. He remarked: "The lions had American accents in Africa, and then you had the monkey with an accent," extending his criticism to films like "Black Panther" and other American portrayals of Africa in popular culture.
Mr Morake’s lawyers acknowledge that "ingonyama" can literally mean "lion" but contend it is used in the song as a "royal metaphor" invoking kingship. They argue Mr Jonasi intentionally misrepresented "an African vocal proclamation grounded in South African tradition."
The lawsuit claims Mr Jonasi "received a standing ovation" for a similar joke during a Los Angeles stand-up performance on 12 March. It alleges that such viral statements are interfering with Mr Morake’s business relationships with Disney and his royalty income, seeking more than $20 million in actual damages and an additional $7 million in punitive damages. Disney did not respond to a request for comment.
The complaint further argues that Mr Jonasi presented his translation "as authoritative fact, not comedy," thereby disqualifying it from the First Amendment protections typically afforded to parody and satire.
Mr Jonasi does not have an attorney publicly listed for the case, and a representative did not respond to a request for comment. However, the comedian shared his thoughts in a video posted last week while on his US tour. He stated he is a "big fan" of Mr Morake’s work and loves the song. Upon learning of Mr Morake’s upset, Mr Jonasi initially wanted to create a video with him to explain the song’s deeper meaning.
"Comedy always has a way of starting conversation," Mr Jonasi said in the Instagram video, which garnered over 100,000 likes. "This is your chance to actually educate people, because now people are listening."
However, Mr Jonasi explained he changed his mind about collaborating after Mr Morake allegedly called him "self-hating" during an exchange of messages following the 25 February podcast. He suggested Mr Morake’s reaction overlooked the nuanced critique of American renderings of African identity present in his wider work.
