Grammy winner seeks more than $20m in damages over mistranslation of The Lion King chant
A Grammy-winning South African composer who wrote and performed the opening chant in Circle of Life for Disney’s The Lion King is suing a comedian for allegedly damaging his reputation by intentionally misrepresenting the song’s meaning on a podcast and in his standup routine.
Lebohang Morake’s lawsuit accuses the Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Mwanyenyeka, known as Learnmore Jonasi, of intentionally mistranslating the chant, which launches the 1994 movie and is central to staged versions as well as Disney’s 2019 remake.
The dispute, which has gone viral as the two men challenge each other on social media, stems from statements Jonasi made in his standup routines and in a podcast interview, when he translated the song’s lyrics from Zulu and Xhosa, two of South Africa’s 12 national languages.
The lawsuit was filed this month in federal court in Los Angeles, where Morake, who performs as Lebo M, lives and where Jonasi has performed. It accuses Jonasi of intentionally mocking “the chant’s cultural significance with exaggerated imitations”.
