Comedian sued by Lion King composer over song's 'true meaning' speaks out

A comedian has responded after being sued by the Lion King composer for $27 million after making a tongue-in-cheek 'translation' of the iconic opening chant.

It's possibly one of the most well-known film openings ever, with the sun rising over an African landscape as the chant 'Nants’ingonyama bagithi Baba' blasts out.

Composer Lebohang Morake wrote the music for Circle of Life, which is central to both the Disney movie and the stage adaptation.

But he has now sued Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Mwanyenyeka, who is known as Learnmore Jonasi, for purposefully mocking 'the chant’s cultural significance with exaggerated imitations'.

During a segment on the One54 podcast, the hosts, who are Nigerian, had incorrectly sang the lyrics.

Jonasi corrected them, and said: “That’s not how you sing it, don’t mess up our language like that," before he sang the lyrics correctly.

When the hosts asked him what the lyrics mean, he jokingly replied: “Look, there’s a lion. Oh my god.”

The official translation from Disney of the famous opening line is: “All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king.”

Taking to his social media page in a video to address the lawsuit, Jonasi said: "I'm officially getting sued for telling a joke."

He then played the clip, before saying: "And that's why I'm getting sued for $27 million."

Astonishingly, the comedian then revealed that he was served the legal papers while half way through a performance onstage at the Laugh Factory.

The video cut away to footage from the gig, where someone hands him an envelope and informs him that he has been served as he is performing, leaving the comedian stunned.

Holding up the envelope, he told the audience: "For those that are wondering what this is for, I did a joke about The Lion King. I don't know if you saw it, that was me yeah, I'm paying for that s**t now."

As the stunned comedian laughed, he said: "I just got served in front of you guys. I'm now raising money, a GoFundMe page."

In a textbook demonstration of 'the show must go on', Jonasi then continued with his set, questioning why the lions in the movie had American accents in Africa, and the only accent was given to a monkey.

Continuing his video, he said: "Right now I am looking for a lawyer, I need a very good lawyer. If you know anybody out here who is willing to help me, please, please reach out to me."

Jonasi added: "I can't believe I'm getting sued for telling a joke, what kind of stupid world do we live in?"

Jonasi has previously said that he loves the song and is a 'big fan' of Morake and his work.

The comedian said that after learning that his joke had offended Morake he offered to make a collaborative video with him, in which they could explore the deeper meaning behind the song, saying in an Instagram video: “Comedy always has a way of starting conversation. This is your chance to actually educate people, because now people are listening.”

However, Jonasi would later withdraw this offer when Morake allegedly called him 'self-hating' in a message exchange after the podcast, and claims that Morake's reaction doesn't take account of how his comedy explores American and Western presentations of Africa.

Morake is claiming $20 million in actual damages and $7 million in punitive damages, claiming that the joke interferes with Morake's dealings with Disney as well as affecting his income from royalties from the song.