Moment comedian is served $27 million legal letter over viral Lion King lyric joke
A comedian was handed a legal letter while on stage after he told a joke about the song 'Circle of Life' from The Lion King.
Zimbabwean stand-up comedian Learnmore Jonasi, real name Learnmore Mwanyenyeka, is being sued by the singer and composer Lebohang Morake who performed the male opening vocals to the song from the Disney movie.
Morake is suing Jonasi for $27 million after the comedian joked about the song on an episode of the One54 podcast that the opening lyrics to 'Circle of Life' which are sung by Morake in Zulu and say 'Nants’ingonyama bagithi Baba' mean: "Look, there’s a lion. Oh my god!"
Disney's official guide to the song says the lyric actually means 'All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king', and in his lawsuit Morake alleged that the comedian mocked the song's 'cultural significance with exaggerated imitations', as the composer claims the joke is causing problems for his business relationship with Disney and his income from royalties.
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The comedian posted a video on Facebook showing him on stage performing a set when someone handed him an envelope, with him saying this was the 'real' moment he was served papers from the lawsuit.
Have a look:
A hand extends to give him the papers and Jonasi asked: "What is this?"
He said: "Oh s**t I just got served. Oh s**t. Oh my God. For those who are wondering what this is for, I did a joke about The Lion King. I'm paying for that s**t now. This is it. F**k The Lion King.
"Oh I've just been served bro. I got served right in front of you guys. I'm not raising money, a GoFundMe page. Ah this is so funny man."
The comedian has indeed started a GoFundMe, and after composing himself he carried on his set with more jokes about The Lion King and how almost all of the characters have American accents despite the film being set in Africa.
"The only accent, they gave it to the monkey, what the f**k? And it was Caribbean. What the f**k man?" He joked to the audience.
"Listen, I now have anxiety, a gluten allergy, I've got served - I'm now American!"
Rounding out the clip he asked a rather important question for a man facing a $27 million lawsuit, asking the audience: "Any lawyer?"
Lawyers for Morake say that while 'ingonyama' can literally translate to 'lion', in the song it is being used as a 'royal metaphor', as he claims the comedian is 'disrespecting his work'.
He also claims Jonasi misrepresented 'an African vocal proclamation grounded in South African tradition' and presented his translation of the lyrics 'as authoritative fact, not comedy'.
Jonasi alleges that he spoke with Morake when the composer privately contacted him, with the comedian saying he told Morake he was actually a fan of the song and he was just joking.
The comedian said he also offered to collaborate with the composer on a video to educate people and did not know the 'deeper meaning' behind the lyrics.
Morake called Jonasi a 'self-hating n***o', which he has since apologised for in his own video, saying: "If I offended anyone by using the word I used describing this young man, I apologise."
The composer claimed things soured between them when Jonasi continued to tell the joke.
Learnmore Jonasi launches GoFundMe to 'fight unjust lawsuit'
The stand-up has set up a $20,000 GoFundMe and admitted that he is 'reaching out during one of the most difficult moments in my life' as he said the cost of his legal defence was beyond him to afford.
"I was recently hit with a $27 million lawsuit by renowned artist Lebohang Morake (Lebo M) over a joke I made about The Lion King’s opening Zulu chant," he wrote, as over $15,000 has been raised at the time of writing.
"What started as a bit of humour has escalated into a devastating legal battle.
"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."
The comedian has also taken to selling merchandise about the lawsuit in an attempt to raise money for his legal fees.
LADbible has contacted Disney for comment as well as representatives of Jonasi.
Joe Harker