When someone mentions The Lion King, you’re lying if you say the beginning of the Circle of Life doesn’t pop into your head.
The emotional and iconic song represents the theme of the Disney film, which is the delicate nature of life, from birth right through to death and renewal.
Most people would agree the most recognisable part of the song, is the Zulu chant at the beginning, which was written and composed by Lebo M, and has become synonymous with 1994 film.
But while the chant ‘Nants’ingonyama bagithi Bab’ is undoubtedly one of the most iconic song lyrics of all time, it has recently become the center of a legal battle between Lebo M, whose full name is Lebohang Morake, and comedian Learnmore Mwanyenyeka, known as Learnmore Jonasi, who made a famous joke about the song.
A comedian’s joke has turned into a lawsuit
The lawsuit stems from an episode of the podcast One54, in which the Nigerian hosts attempt to chant the opening line incorrectly, prompting Jonasi to step in and correct them.
“That’s not how you sing it, don’t mess up our language like that,” he told the hosts, before performing the line in the correct lyrics in Zulu. All sounds pretty good, right?
Until the comedian followed up the line by saying the lyrics translate to: “Look, there’s a lion, oh my god.”
The podcast hosts laughed and said they thought the chant was supposed to represent something more ‘beautiful and majestic.’
Disney’s official translation of the line is: “All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king.”
During the conversation, Jonasi, who was born and raised in Zimbabwe, critiqued the hit Disney movie franchise for profiting off simple narratives about Africa for non-African audiences.
He told the hosts: “The lions had American accents in Africa, and then you had the monkey with an accent.”
The comedian went on to make a similar joke about the translation during a stand up performance in Los Angeles on March 12, in a clip which was widely shared across social media.
While the comment appeared to be made in jest, Lebo M has since filed a lawsuit against Jonasi, accusing him of deliberately mistranslating the lyrics and mocking ‘the chant’s cultural significance with exaggerated imitations.’
The complaint says the comedian stated the translation ‘as authoritative fact, not comedy,’ disqualifying the comments from the First Amendment protections which are usually given to jokes, parody and satire.
The composer’s lawyers have acknowledged the fact that ‘ingonyama’ can be translated literally to mean ‘lion,’ however they argue it is used in the song as a ‘royal metaphor’ referring to kingship.
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The lawsuit claims Jonasi intentionally misrepresented ‘an African vocal proclamation grounded in South African tradition,’ while noting the comedian ‘received a standing ovation’ for the gag during the LA performance.
Lebo M is said have suffered interference in his business relationship with Disney and his royalty income as a result of the comments and in turn is seeking more than $20 million in actual damages and a further $7 million in punitive damages.
The comedian addressed the lawsuit on social media
Jonasi has addressed the fallout publicly, revealing he is a ‘big fan’ of the composer’s work and insisting he loves the song. He went on to say that when he first discovered the musician was upset by his comments, he wanted to create a video with Lebo M to explain the song’s deeper meaning.
“Comedy always has a way of starting conversation,” he said in the Instagram video, which has been liked by more than 100,000 people. “This is your chance to actually educate people, because now people are listening.”
However, Jonasi’s feelings appeared to have changed after he called the composer ‘self-hating’ during a series of messages. During a podcast appearance, he suggested Lebo M’s reaction overlooked the nuanced criticism he was making about American renderings of African culture, both in the Circle of Life and the composer’s wider work.
In the most recent development, Lebo M’s lawyers revealed they were pushing forward with proceedings after a ‘continued refusal to engage in constructive discussions’ from Jonasi.
Meanwhile, the comedian has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help support his legal defence, which has so far raised more than $24,000.
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