The composer who wrote The Lion King‘s song “Circle of Life” is suing a Zimbabwean comedian for his “sick” viral joke about the song.
Learnmore Jonasi shared video of a process server handing him legal documents midway through his stand up comedy routine.
“What is this? What does this say?” Jonasi asked the man. “Service,” the man answered before tossing a manila envelope at Jonasi’s feet.
“Oh sh-t! I just got served,” Jonasi told the shocked audience members.
Jonasi picked up the envelope and laughed.
“For those who are wondering what this is for, I did a joke about The Lion King. I don’t know, you saw it? That was me!”
Jonasi recently went viral for cracking a joke about the song’s iconic opening chant during an appearance on the “One54 Africa” podcast last month.
He said the song’s opening chant means “Look, there’s a lion. Oh my god. It’s a lion.”
Comedian Learnmore Jonasi got served with a $27 million lawsuit right on stage because of his viral Lion King joke
pic.twitter.com/HzMYIt1Xkg— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) March 27, 2026
The clip went viral, and most viewers thought he was serious.
But Grammy-winning South African composer Lebohang “Lebo” Morake, who wrote the song for the Disney movie, isn’t laughing.
Morake also performed the song’s opening chant. He said it means “All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king.”
Morake filed a $27 million lawsuit against Jonasi, citing Jonasi’s “sick joke”.
He accused Jonasi of defamatory misrepresentation of the lyrics of his popular song.
He described Jonasi as an “arrogant… wannabe comedian.”
