{"id":125950,"date":"2026-03-29T21:30:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T01:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/lion-king-composer-sues-comedian-for-27m-over-circle-of-life-joke-125950"},"modified":"2026-03-29T21:30:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T01:30:25","slug":"lion-king-composer-sues-comedian-for-27m-over-circle-of-life-joke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/lion-king-composer-sues-comedian-for-27m-over-circle-of-life-joke-125950","title":{"rendered":"‘Lion King’ composer sues comedian for $27M over ‘Circle of Life’ joke"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Zimbabwean comedian<\/a> Learnmore Jonasi faces a lawsuit for $27 million after making a joke about the lyrics to the opening song of the Disney film “The Lion King.”<\/p>\n

While appearing on the One54 Africa\u00a0podcast<\/a> last month, Jonasi jokingly claimed that “Nants\u2019ingonyama bagithi Baba,” the opening African chant to the song “Circle of Life,” translates to “Look! There\u2019s a lion! Oh my god!”<\/p>\n

South African composer Lebohang Morake, otherwise known as Lebo M, the vocalist behind the opening chant, accused the comedian<\/a> in a legal document on March 16 of making “false statements of fact about the meaning of the ‘Nants\u2019ingonyama’ composition” which he insists translates to “All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king.”<\/p>\n

BABYLON BEE TOUTS LEGAL WIN OVER HAWAII GOVERNMENT’S ‘WAR AGAINST POLITICAL MEMES AND SATIRE’ IN FEDERAL COURT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

He claimed Jonasi was diminishing the song’s value, which could have a negative impact on Morake’s reputation and estate, and is seeking more than $27 million in damages.<\/p>\n

In an Instagram video<\/a> on March 13, Jonasi acknowledged speaking to Morake about the joke, which reportedly led to a harsh confrontation.<\/p>\n

“When this man first approached me, he approached me with the attitude of saying that I am disrespecting his work, right?” Jonasi said. “And I was like, ‘No, actually, I am a big fan of yours. I actually love the song.’ And therefore, this was just a joke, and comedy has always had a way of starting a conversation. I told him this. This is now your chance to educate people because now people are listening.”<\/p>\n

Jonasi claimed that Morake referred to him as a “self-hating” Black man and “idiot” for telling the joke.<\/p>\n

JONATHAN TURLEY: AFROMAN TURNS COURT INTO FIRST AMENDMENT RAP LESSON ON RIGHTS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“I realize I’m not actually having a conversation with someone who wants to do that. This person is literally not attacking the joke but my character,” Jonasi said.<\/p>\n

Jonasi revealed that he was later served with the lawsuit days later during one of his comedy shows at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“I now have a gluten allergy, anxiety. I got served. I am now American,” Jonasi joked in a video<\/a> of the performance.<\/p>\n

WITH 10 KIDS AT HOME, COMEDIAN KOUNTRY WAYNE SAYS REAL LIFE WRITES THE JOKES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Fox News Digital<\/a> reached out to representatives for Jonasi and Morake for comment.<\/p>\n

In an interview with the New York Post<\/a> on Friday, Jonasi, who has launched a GoFundMe page for legal support, denied the allegations in the lawsuit, arguing that the joke has built up more interest in the film and song.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve actually gotten a lot of messages saying, \u2018Hey that joke actually made me wanna go back and watch the movie again.’ It\u00a0has revived people\u2019s interest in the song. It actually made it more relevant,” Jonasi said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/lion-king-composer-sues-comedian-27m-over-circle-life-joke <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Jonasi faces a lawsuit for $27 million after making a joke about the lyrics to the opening song of the Disney film […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-125950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n'Lion King' composer sues comedian for $27M over 'Circle of Life' joke - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/lion-king-composer-sues-comedian-for-27m-over-circle-of-life-joke-125950\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Lion King' composer sues comedian for $27M over 'Circle of Life' joke - 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