The Lion King composer ordered to pay comedian after $27m lawsuit over podcast joke backfires

The composer who wrote part of The Lion King’s A Circle of Life has now been ordered to pay a comedian $40k to cover his legal fees after suing him earlier this year for something he said on a podcast. 

If you missed this whole saga, here’s a quick rundown. Lebohang Morake, better known as Lebo M, wrote the iconic opening lyrics “Nants’ingonyama bagithi Baba,” which is written in Zulu. Elton John did the music, and Tim Rice wrote the lyrics.

Lebo M sued comedian Learnmore Jonasi for $27 million and accused him of intentionally mocking “the chant’s cultural significance with exaggerated imitations” in a viral podcast clip. 

Credit: Disney

It came after the comedian went on the One54 podcast in February and claimed that the famous chant translates to: “Look, there’s a lion. Oh my God.” The podcast host replied in shock: “You’re joking. That is not what that means! This whole time I thought it was like this like this beautiful, majestic.” The comedian then insisted that was “exactly what it means”.

The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Los Angeles, and Lebo M alleged that Jonasi said the translation “as authoritative fact, not comedy”. They also alleged that the comedian intentionally misrepresented “an African vocal proclamation grounded in South African tradition”. 

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Lebo M eventually decided to completely drop the lawsuit, but the comedian then demanded that the composer pay him $40k in compensation to cover his legal bills. In the latest update on Friday, 28th August, Judge Josephine Staton granted his request. 

In a statement to The Tab, Jonasi’s lawyers said: “This was a clear and decisive victory under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, and the Court properly awarded attorney’s fees incurred in connection with the successful anti-SLAPP motion.

“The fee award reflects the Court’s recognition that the motion was well-founded and that the defendant was the prevailing party. Our client is extremely pleased with this result, which brings this matter to a successful conclusion and represents a complete victory in the case.”

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Featured image credit: One54 and Disney