What started off as a joke about a Lion King lyric turns into a $27 million legal headache and cultural clash for this comedian
And he got served on stage.
Comedian Learnmore Jonasi is facing a massive $27 million lawsuit over a viral joke about The Lion King’s iconic opening song, and he was even served the legal papers while performing on stage. The suit comes from Lebohang Morake, the composer of the chant, who alleges Jonasi damaged his reputation and misrepresented his work.
According to LADBible, it started during an episode of the One54 podcast. Jonasi, who goes by his real name Learnmore Mwanyenyeka, commented that the hosts weren’t singing the lyrics to Circle of Life correctly. He explained that the phrase “Nants’ingonyama bagithi Baba” is Zulu, and then, as a joke, claimed it meant: “Look, there’s a lion. Oh my god!”
The co-host was pretty surprised, saying, “You’re joking. That is not what that means! This whole time I thought it was like this beautiful, majestic.” Jonasi then quipped that it was “exactly what it means.”
Clearly, Jonasi was wrong in his translation
Disney’s official translation of the opening phrase from The Lion King is actually, “All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king.” Morake’s legal team argues that while “ingonyama” can literally mean “lion,” in the song, it’s used as a “royal metaphor” invoking kingship.
The lawsuit claims Jonasi intentionally misrepresented “an African vocal proclamation grounded in South African tradition.” The complaint also accuses Jonasi of presenting his translation “as authoritative fact, not comedy,” which could mean it wouldn’t get the First Amendment protections usually afforded to comedians.
Jonasi himself confirmed the lawsuit in an Instagram video, saying, “I am officially getting sued for telling a joke.” He shared a clip of the podcast bit, adding, “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.”
He even posted the moment he got served. Mid-set, a yellow piece of paper was handed to him, and he asked, “What is this?” His reaction to the crowd was classic: “Oh s— I just got served. Oh s—. Oh my God. This is for… I did a joke about The Lion King. I’m paying for that s— now. F— The Lion King.” He then joked, “Listen, I now have anxiety, a gluten allergy, I’ve got served – I’m now American! Any lawyer?”
The legal drama actually escalated from a private conversation to a full-blown social media war before landing in court. Jonasi shared a video on March 14 explaining that Morake initially approached him, accusing him of “disrespecting his work.” He told Morake he was actually “a big fan of yours, I actually love the song,” and clarified his comments were just a joke.
He even offered to collaborate on a video with Morake to “educate people,” admitting, “Personally, I had no idea [the lyrics] had a deeper meaning.” However, Jonasi claims “everything changed” when Morake allegedly called him a “self-hating no,” adding, “I’m not going to talk to this person. He called me an idiot.”
The composer Lebohang Morake is not backing down
Morake responded with his own video the next day. He apologized if he “offended anyone by using the word I used describing this young man,” but he definitely didn’t back down. He explained that Jonasi was “insulting my work that has been inspirational to people around the world for over 50 years,” and “insulting my culture.” Morake’s side of the story is that their private chat broke down after Jonasi vowed to keep telling the joke.
He also complained that it wasn’t clear on One54 that Jonasi’s comments were a joke, accusing the comedian of “making a mockery of my work” and “riding a huge wave of going viral on negativity.” Morake concluded by saying, “It’s unfortunate that this has gone this far, and I hope this being my last comment will make it shut down. I wish you well.”
Jonasi is planning to fight the lawsuit. He has started a GoFundMe to cover his legal costs, which has already raised over $10,000. He’s also selling merch to help with expenses. Jonasi expressed his disbelief, saying, “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.”
(featured image: Richard Townsend)
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