The Grammy-winning composer who performed the iconic opening chant to “Circle of Life” in the 1994 Disney animated classic “The Lion King” is suing a comedian for intentionally misinterpreting the words to the hit song.
South African musician Lebohang Morake, more commonly known as Lebo M, performed the opening chant in the original film, sung in the South African language Zulu. Lebo M is taking Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Mwanyenyeka (known as Learnmore Jonasi) to court for more than $20 million in damages over misrepresenting the meaning of the song’s opening lines.
According to the lawsuit, obtained by TheWrap, the line “Nants’ingonyama bagithi Baba” from early in “Circle of Life” directly translates to “All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king.”
The lawsuit points to an episode of the podcast “One54 Africa,” where Jonasi made “false statements of fact about the meaning of the ‘Nants’ingonyama’ composition” that went viral. In the episode, Jonasi stated that the real translation of the Zulu phrase is “Look, there’s a lion. Oh my god.”
“You’re joking,” the host said. “That is not what that means.”
“That’s exactly what it means,” Jonasi replied. You can watch the exchange below.
The composer claims that, in misinterpreting the words, Jonasi created a “false and misleading translation intended to boost personal profits at the expense of Lebo M.” It further states that Jonasi’s speaking on the topic with authority would mislead viewers into believing the false translation was indeed accurate.
The lawsuit also states that the “insipid jokes” made by Jonasi are affecting Lebo M’s relationship with Disney and are impacting income from royalties from the song. The “comedy is not free speech because you cannot shout ‘Fire’ in a crowded theater if the statement is false,” the lawsuit continues.
Disney did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
The lawsuit goes on to state that Lebo M and Jonasi had an exchange over Instagram DMs wherein the composer said the comedian “crossed a line by insulting African culture and spreading colonialistic propaganda.”
“It’s actually unfortunate that you see it this way. But I still love your work though,” Jonasi allegedly responded. “Look at it like this, jokes are meant to open the window to start a conversation.”
