Composer Lebo M is claiming a mistranslation of the song's opening chant by comedian Learnmore Jonasi has caused him $20 million in damages.
Composer Lebo M is claiming a mistranslation of the song's opening chant by comedian Learnmore Jonasi has somehow caused him more than $20 million in damages. Specifically, Zimbabwe-born comedian Learnmore Jonasi has revealed that he’s been hit with a lawsuit on behalf of Lebo M, the South African producer and composer who wrote and performed the Zulu chant that begins the iconic song.
Composer Lebo M is claiming a mistranslation of the song's opening chant by comedian Learnmore Jonasi has somehow caused him more than $20 million in damages.. Specifically, Zimbabwe-born comedian Learnmore Jonasi has revealed that he’s been hit with a lawsuit on behalf of Lebo M, the South African producer and composer who wrote and performed the Zulu chant that begins the iconic song. Lebo M is reportedlypodcast to make a joke that’s also appeared in his stand-up act, in which he mistranslates the lyrics to the chant as “Look, there’s a lion. Oh my god.” The appearance went viral, which is how it caught the attention of Lebo M , who began a pretty heated back-and-forth with Jonasi, first in private, and then on social media. That culminated in an incident in which Jonasi was served papers while literally on stage, joking at the time that, “I just got served, I’m now American!” Per, the subsequent lawsuit claims that the viral nature of the mistranslation joke means it somehow caused Morake more than $20 million in damages to royalties and his relationship with Disney; he’s also seeking $7 million in punitive damages, to boot. Jonasi has responded to the lawsuit by, well, posting more videos, as well as selling merchandise pretty clearly designed to raise money for a possible legal battle. Disney itself hasn’t issued a public comment on the lawsuit. But public videos from both
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