A Grammy-winning South African composer who wrote and performed the opening chant in Circle of Life for Disney’s The Lion King has sued a comedian, alleging damage to his reputation from intentional misrepresentation of the song’s meaning on a podcast and in standup.
Lebohang Morake, who performs as Lebo M, accuses Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Mwanyenyeka, known as Learnmore Jonasi, of intentionally mistranslating the Zulu and Xhosa chant that opens the 1994 film and features in stage productions and Disney’s 2019 remake. The dispute has gone viral as the two men exchange challenges on social media.
Filed this month in federal court in Los Angeles — where Morake lives and Jonasi has performed — the lawsuit says Jonasi mocked “the chant’s cultural significance with exaggerated imitations.” It cites an episode of the One54 podcast in which Nigerian hosts garble the chant; Jonasi corrects them and then, when asked, offers a translation he says means: “Look, there’s a lion. Oh my god.” The hosts laugh, saying they had expected something more “beautiful and majestic.”
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.” The chant continues “Hay! baba, sizongqoba,” which Morake says means “through you we will emerge victoriously.” Morake’s lawyers acknowledge “ingonyama” can literally mean “lion” but argue the song uses it as a royal metaphor and that Jonasi intentionally misrepresented “an African vocal proclamation grounded in South African tradition.”
The complaint says Jonasi received a standing ovation for a similar joke during a 12 March performance in Los Angeles, and that such viral statements are interfering with Morake’s business relationships with Disney and his royalty income, alleging more than US$20m in actual damages and seeking US$7m in punitive damages.
Jonasi’s commentary on the podcast came amid a broader critique of The Lion King franchise, which he said profits from simplistic narratives about Africa for non-African audiences: “The lions had American accents in Africa, and then you had the monkey with an accent,” he said.
The lawsuit argues Jonasi presented his translation “as authoritative fact, not comedy,” and therefore should not receive First Amendment protections typically afforded to parody and satire. Morake’s filing contends the statements harmed his reputation and earning capacity.
Jonasi does not have an attorney publicly listed in the case and did not respond to an emailed request for comment. In a video he posted while continuing his US tour, the comedian said he is a “big fan” of Morake and loves the song, and initially wanted to create a video with the composer to explain the chant’s meaning. He said he later changed his mind after an exchange of messages in which he alleges Morake called him “self-hating.” Disney did not respond to requests for comment.
