Lebo M sues comedian Learnmore Jonasi claiming Circle of ...

What’s Happening

Breaking it down: 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 Lebohang ‘Lebo M’ Morake, who wrote and performed the chant at the beginning of The Lion King’s Circle of Life, at the Johannesburg premiere of the musical version in 2007. Photograph: Denis Farrell/AP View image in fullscreen Lebohang ‘Lebo M’ Morake, who wrote and performed the chant at the beginning of The Lion King’s Circle of Life, at the Johannesburg premiere of the musical version in 2007. (it feels like chaos)

Photograph: Denis Farrell/AP Culture Lebo M sues comedian Learnmore Jonasi claiming Circle of Life misrepresentation Grammy winner seeks more than $20m in damages over mistranslation of The Lion King chant Associated Press Tue 24 Mar 2026 23.

The Details

06 EDT Prefer the Guardian on Google 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 the song’s meaning on a podcast and in his standup routine. The dispute, which has gone viral as the two men challenge each other on socials, 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”.

Why This Matters

Disney’s official translation of the opening phrase “Nants’ingonyama bagithi Baba” is: “All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king. Baba, sizongqoba,” the chant continues. It translates to “through you we will emerge victoriously”, according to Morake.

This is part of the larger geopolitical picture unfolding right now.

The Bottom Line

It translates to “through you we will emerge victoriously”, according to Morake.

What’s your take on this whole situation?