A comedian has been sued for $27 million over a viral joke about The Lion King song 'Circle of Life'.
Lebohang Morake, the composer of the chant, is suing Learnmore Jonasi, real name Learnmore Mwanyenyeka, for allegedly damaging his reputation.
During a February episode of One54, the Zimbabwean stand-up said the hosts were not singing the lyrics correctly, adding that the phrase 'Nants’ingonyama bagithi Baba' was Zulu.
"Don't mess up our language like that," he said, claiming that the lyrics meant: "Look, there’s a lion. Oh my god!"
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Co-host Akbar said: "You're joking. That is not what that means! This whole time I thought it was like this like this beautiful, majestic."
Jonasi joked it was 'exactly what it means'.
However, Disney’s official translation of opening phrase 'Nants’ingonyama bagithi Baba' is: "All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king."
Why Learnmore Jonasi being sued for $27 million
Morake’s lawyers said in the complaint that 'ingonyama' can literally translate to 'lion', but is used in the song as a 'royal metaphor' that invokes kingship, and that Jonasi intentionally misrepresented 'an African vocal proclamation grounded in South African tradition'.
The lawsuit says Jonasi 'received a standing ovation' for a similar joke during a stand-up performance in Los Angeles on 12 March.
Taking to Instagram, the comic confirmed in a video that 'I am officially getting sued for telling a joke'.
Jonasi responds to the lawsuit
After sharing a clip of the podcast, he said: "And that's why I'm getting sued for $27,000,000. And to make matters worse, I got served the lawsuit while I was performing on stage."
"Right now, I'm looking for a lawyer, man," he added.
"I need a very good lawyer. If you know anybody out here that is willing to help me, please, please reach out to me.
"I can't believe I'm getting sued for telling a joke. What kind of stupid world do we live in? This world is stupid."
The complaint also accuses Jonasi of presenting his translation 'as authoritative fact, not comedy' so it shouldn’t get the First Amendment protections afforded to comedians.
In another video, Jonasi said: “Comedy always has a way of starting conversation.
“This is your chance to actually educate people, because now people are listening.”
'Circle of Life' was written by Elton John and Tim Rice for Academy Award winning film The Lion King back in 1994.
The track opens the film with a dramatic African-inspired chant performed by Morake.
It introduces the story’s central theme: the natural cycle of life, death, and renewal in the animal kingdom.
LADbible has contacted Disney and representatives of Jonasi for comment.
Anish Vij