A Grammy-winning South African composer who sang and co-wrote the opening chant of Circle of Life for Disney’s The Lion King has sued a comedian, alleging his reputation and income were harmed by a deliberate mistranslation of the chant on a podcast and in stand-up shows.
Lebohang Morake, known professionally as Lebo M, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles, where he lives and where the comedian has performed. The complaint accuses Zimbabwean comic Learnmore Mwanyenyeka, who performs as Learnmore Jonasi, of misrepresenting the meaning of the Zulu and Xhosa chant that opens the 1994 film and appears in stage productions and the 2019 remake.
Morake’s filing cites an episode of the One54 podcast in which the hosts initially garble the chant and Jonasi offers a corrective translation. According to the complaint, Jonasi then gives a flippant rendering — which he says amounts to something like “Look, there’s a lion. Oh my god” — and the hosts laugh, saying they had expected something more majestic. The suit also points to a March 12 stand-up performance in Los Angeles where Jonasi reportedly received a standing ovation for a similar joke.
Disney’s official translation of the opening line Nants’ingonyama bagithi Baba is cited in the suit as “All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king.” The chant continues with Hay! baba, sizongqoba, which Morake’s lawyers say means “through you we will emerge victoriously.” The complaint acknowledges that ingonyama can literally mean “lion” but contends the lyric functions as a royal metaphor rooted in South African tradition and culture, and that Jonasi intentionally presented a reductive translation that mocked its significance.
Morake says the viral nature of the remarks has disrupted his business relationships with Disney and interfered with royalty income, seeking more than $20 million in actual damages and $7 million in punitive damages. The lawsuit argues Jonasi framed his translation as an authoritative statement rather than parody or opinion and therefore should not receive First Amendment protections typically applied to satire.
Jonasi has no attorney publicly listed in the case and did not respond to an emailed request for comment. In a video posted while on tour in the U.S., he described himself as a fan of Morake and said he initially hoped to make a joint video explaining the chant’s meaning. He said he 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.