Comedian’s ‘Lion King’ Joke Results in $27 Million Lawsuit

A comedian is facing a $27 million lawsuit after making a joke about a famous song from The Lion King. Surprisingly, the lawsuit isn’t coming from Disney.

South African comedian Learnmore Jonasi is facing a lawsuit from Lebohang Morake, the Grammy-winning composer who created the Zulu vocals for the song “Circle of Life.” The lawsuit stems from a joke Jonasi made on a podcast where he gave an incorrect translation of the chant.

During a February appearance on the One54 Africa podcast, Jonasi reacted to the host performing a chant by dismissing it as having no meaning. He then playfully offered his own interpretation after singing the chant himself, joking that it translated to, “Look, there’s a Lion! Oh my God!”

I’ve been following this case, and it’s a pretty serious claim. Musician Morake is suing Jonasi, alleging a false translation of his Zulu lyrics caused real damage to his career. Apparently, the translation wasn’t delivered as part of a comedic performance – like a joke or a bit – but was instead presented as a genuine, factual representation of the lyrics, which Morake disputes and feels misrepresents his work.

According to the lawsuit, the defendant didn’t present the statement as a joke. Instead, they acted as if it were true, seemingly to get attention and make fun of [Morake’s] work.

The $27 million lawsuit describes the mistranslation as deeply offensive, with some social media users claiming it negatively impacted their childhood memories.

In the lawsuit, Morake claims the famous “Nants’ingonyama bagithi Baba” chant actually translates to “All hail the king, we all bow before the king.”

The lawsuit argues that the chant is a distinctively African vocal expression with roots in South African tradition, even when heard outside of the song “Circle of Life.”

Look, as a film fan, I’ve seen plenty of miscommunications, but this one’s pretty strange. Apparently, Jonasi admitted he did discuss the chant with Morake. And get this – he’s claiming his whole mistranslation was just a joke! Honestly, it feels like a really bad excuse, but that’s what he’s saying.

I explained that comedy often opens up discussions and that this was a great opportunity to inform people, as they were now paying attention. I even offered to help him create a video about it. Honestly, I didn’t realize there was a hidden layer to it all.

He’s now raising money through GoFundMe to pay for his legal defense, describing the lawsuit against him as unfair.

Jonasi received the lawsuit papers while he was performing a comedy show on stage Tuesday, March 24th.

Lost Disney Animated Movies That Were Never Made

Who Discovered Roger Rabbit

After the huge success of the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, plans began for a sequel called Roger Rabbit: The Toon Platoon. It would have shown Roger Rabbit’s early life, including his time serving in the army during World War II. However, Steven Spielberg, who was originally producing, left the project after directing Schindler’s List. Years later, in 1997, the idea was revisited as Who Discovered Roger Rabbit, with a new story focusing on Roger becoming a star in Hollywood and on Broadway. Despite test footage created with a mix of animation styles, Disney wasn’t satisfied, and the film was ultimately canceled.

Untitled Nightmare Before Christmas Sequel

During the early 2000s, Disney explored the possibility of creating a CGI sequel to the 1993 stop-motion classic, The Nightmare Before Christmas. However, the film’s creator, Tim Burton, persuaded them to cancel the project, wanting to preserve the original’s unique quality. Instead, a direct continuation of the story was released in 2004 as the Capcom video game, The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge. While director Henry Selick has mentioned a prequel idea recently, both he and Tim Burton have since decided against making any further films.

Swan Lake

In the early 1990s, Disney planned to create an animated movie based on the famous ballet Swan Lake, fitting perfectly with their classic princess movie formula. However, they abandoned the project when they discovered that Richard Rich, a former Disney animator, was already making his own film called The Swan Princess after leaving Disney in 1986. Released in 1994 by New Line Cinema, The Swan Princess didn’t do well in theaters, but it later gained a dedicated fanbase through home video.

Don Quixote

I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that Disney has tried, again and again, to make an animated Don Quixote movie! It started way back in the 1940s, but after Pinocchio and Fantasia didn’t do as well as hoped, and with the war effort needing their focus, the project was shelved. They revisited the idea in the 50s, thinking a different animation style might work, but it still didn’t come together. Then, in the early 2000s, they tried once more, only to decide the story was simply too mature for a Disney audience. It’s a shame, really – I think a Disney Don Quixote could be amazing!

A Princess of Mars

In the early 1990s, Disney began developing an animated science fiction movie called A Princess of Mars, inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic novel. Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was Disney’s CEO at the time, really wanted to make the film and offered it to directors Ron Clements and John Musker, but they turned it down. Almost twenty years later, in 2012, Disney released a live-action version called John Carter, but it wasn’t successful in theaters.

Kingdom of the Sun

Before we got the hilarious, fast-paced The Emperor’s New Groove, Disney was actually working on something very different. It was originally called Kingdom of the Sun, and believe me, it was a much darker, more ambitious project. Think a full-blown musical with a prince-and-pauper story, and a villain, Yzma, who wanted to literally extinguish the sun! They even had Owen Wilson lined up to voice Pacha, and Sting was composing the music. Sadly, early test screenings weren’t good, so they had to completely overhaul it. They dropped most of the musical elements, but thankfully, they kept one gem: Eartha Kitt’s song, “Snuff Out the Light,” ended up on the soundtrack, even though it didn’t make the final cut of the movie. It’s a fascinating glimpse into what could have been.

Tinker Bell and the Ring of Belief

Before Disney released the Tinker Bell movie in 2008, another film called Tinker Bell and the Ring of Belief was being made. Brittany Murphy, who sadly passed away, was going to be the voice of Tinker Bell. Planned for release in 2007, this movie would have told the story of how Tinker Bell and Peter Pan first met. Disney shared some early previews and trailers in the mid-2000s, but the project ultimately changed drastically. Creative disagreements, money problems, and Disney’s shift from traditional 2D animation to 3D animation led to a complete reimagining of the film.

Where the Wild Things Are

Before Spike Jonze brought Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are to life in live-action, Disney actually explored an animated version way back in the early ’80s! I recently learned that in 1983, animators Glen Keane and John Lasseter created a short test film showcasing Max’s wild room. What’s fascinating is they were experimenting with blending classic hand-drawn animation with some really early 3D techniques. Sadly, the idea of a full-length movie was shelved, mostly because it was just too technically challenging and expensive to expand that short into a feature film.

Gigantic

Originally announced at Disney’s D23 Expo in 2015, Gigantic was going to be a charming, computer-animated movie about a boy in Spain who becomes friends with a giant girl named Inma. The story, inspired by “Jack and the Beanstalk,” involved a hidden world in the clouds and was planned to have music from the creators of Frozen. However, the film faced several delays and was ultimately canceled in 2017 due to disagreements about its direction. While the project is currently on hold with no plans for revival, a subtle nod to the movie appears as an Easter egg in Disney’s Zootopia.

Babes in Toyland

In 1955, Walt Disney originally planned to create an animated movie based on the popular Christmas story, Babes in Toyland. But the project faced delays and was later changed to a live-action film. Starring Annette Funicello, Disney’s Babes in Toyland came out in 1961 and marked the company’s first full-length live-action musical.

Dufus

During the late 1980s, Disney considered making an animated movie based on J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, with a unique twist: talking and singing German shepherds. They even asked lyricist Howard Ashman to write songs for the film, which was tentatively titled Dufus. Unfortunately, Disney couldn’t secure the rights to the story from Salinger, and the project was ultimately abandoned.

Mistress Masham’s Repose

Back in the mid-1980s, Disney animator Joe Hale was working on a movie called Mistress Mahasam’s Repose, inspired by T.H. White’s 1946 novel. The story would have centered on a young orphan who becomes friends with a group of Lilliputians – the miniature people known from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. Though Roy E. Disney was enthusiastic about the project, then-CEO Michael Eisner didn’t approve, and the film was cancelled. Now, you can find early concept art and character designs by Disney animator Andreas Deja online, offering a glimpse of what could have been.

King of the Elves

Disney planned a 3D animated movie called King of the Elves, based on a 1953 short story by Philip K. Dick. The story follows a group of elves in the Mississippi Delta who crown a human as their king after he rescues them from a troll. The film was intended to be made by the team behind Brother Bear. However, after initial development in 2008 and a brief pause in 2009, the project was ultimately cancelled in 2012 due to problems with the storyline.

Newt

Back in 2008, Disney revealed that Pixar was developing a movie called Newt. It was going to be about two endangered blue-footed newts—a male and a female—who started to connect with each other while traveling together, even though they didn’t initially like each other. The film was planned for release around 2011 or 2012, and a little newt carving actually appeared as a hidden detail in Pixar’s Brave. Ultimately, though, the project was canceled because the story was too similar to the 2011 film Rio from Blue Sky Studios.

My Peoples (AKA A Few Good Ghosts)

In the early 2000s, Disney developed an animated film about a pair of young lovers from rival families in the Appalachian Mountains. They planned to seek help from enchanted folk art dolls. The movie, at one point called My Peoples or A Few Good Ghosts, would have starred Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin, and Hal Holbrook, and blended traditional animation with CGI, all set to a bluegrass soundtrack. Sadly, the project was cancelled in late 2003, reportedly because Disney wanted to focus on the more commercially promising Chicken Little. However, the folk doll characters did make a very brief, almost unnoticeable appearance in the 2007 film Meet the Robinsons.

2026-03-28 00:58