Lebo M ordered to pay comedian over R600K after abandoning a multimillion-dollar lawsuit
This follows Morake's multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Jonasi over a joke about the opening chant from The Lion King.
A South African composer, Lebo M, has been instructed by a United States federal court to reimburse a Zimbabwean comedian, Learnmore Jonasi, with US$39,560 (approximately R640,000) in legal expenses. The judgment stems from Morake's extensive lawsuit against Jonasi regarding a joke made about the opening chant from Disney's The Lion King.
The conflict originated when Jonasi, on a podcast, playfully translated the meaning behind the Zulu chant, "Nants' ingonyama bagithi Baba", which is featured in The Lion King's "Circle of Life". Morake then initiated a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in California, alleging defamation and misrepresentation. The case also touched upon the commercial exploitation of the work.
Morake, well-known for his iconic opening vocals and African choir arrangements in Disney's The Lion King, is closely linked to the franchise's music. He is believed to have terminated the lawsuit. Consequently, Jonasi sought to recover his legal costs under California's anti-SLAPP legislation, which shields speech and activities of public interest from lawsuits intended to stifle protected expression.
The court agreed, awarding Jonasi US$39,560 based on the value of the legal services, not the amount he had personally spent on his defense.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
