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'Look, there's a lion. Oh my God' joke costs Lebo M US$39,560
2 hrs ago |
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A United States federal court has ordered South African composer Lebohang "Lebo M" Morake to pay Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Jonasi US$39,560 in attorneys' fees following a legal dispute over a joke about the iconic Zulu chant from The Lion King.
The ruling followed Jonasi's successful claim that he was the prevailing party under California's anti-SLAPP law after Morake abandoned his original claims against the comedian.
The dispute arose from comments Jonasi made during a podcast appearance in which he jokingly offered his own interpretation of the famous opening chant, "Nants' ingonyama bagithi Baba," from The Lion King's "Circle of Life".
Rather than the traditional interpretation associated with the Zulu praise chant, Jonasi humorously translated the phrase as: "Look, there's a lion. Oh my God."
The joke subsequently attracted Morake's attention. The South African composer, who was involved in the creation and production of music associated with The Lion King, later launched a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in California against Jonasi.
Morake alleged defamation and misrepresentation, arguing that Jonasi's comments trivialised what he considered an important cultural composition.
However, Morake eventually abandoned the claims, leading Jonasi to seek recovery of his legal costs under California's anti-SLAPP legislation, which is designed to protect free speech from lawsuits aimed at suppressing protected expression.
In its ruling on attorneys' fees, the court calculated Jonasi's reasonable legal costs at US$39,560, although it rejected his request for an additional multiplier that would have increased the award.
Jonasi reportedly paid only about US$5,350 out of pocket for his legal defence, with his attorneys substantially discounting their fees while representing him in the case.
The court stressed that its decision did not determine which interpretation of the Zulu phrase was linguistically or culturally correct.
Instead, the ruling was focused on whether Jonasi qualified as the prevailing party for purposes of California's anti-SLAPP law after Morake withdrew his claims.
The judgment therefore represents a legal victory for Jonasi on the issue of attorneys' fees, rather than a ruling on the cultural or linguistic meaning of the Circle of Life chant.
The ruling followed Jonasi's successful claim that he was the prevailing party under California's anti-SLAPP law after Morake abandoned his original claims against the comedian.
The dispute arose from comments Jonasi made during a podcast appearance in which he jokingly offered his own interpretation of the famous opening chant, "Nants' ingonyama bagithi Baba," from The Lion King's "Circle of Life".
Rather than the traditional interpretation associated with the Zulu praise chant, Jonasi humorously translated the phrase as: "Look, there's a lion. Oh my God."
The joke subsequently attracted Morake's attention. The South African composer, who was involved in the creation and production of music associated with The Lion King, later launched a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in California against Jonasi.
Morake alleged defamation and misrepresentation, arguing that Jonasi's comments trivialised what he considered an important cultural composition.
However, Morake eventually abandoned the claims, leading Jonasi to seek recovery of his legal costs under California's anti-SLAPP legislation, which is designed to protect free speech from lawsuits aimed at suppressing protected expression.
In its ruling on attorneys' fees, the court calculated Jonasi's reasonable legal costs at US$39,560, although it rejected his request for an additional multiplier that would have increased the award.
Jonasi reportedly paid only about US$5,350 out of pocket for his legal defence, with his attorneys substantially discounting their fees while representing him in the case.
The court stressed that its decision did not determine which interpretation of the Zulu phrase was linguistically or culturally correct.
Instead, the ruling was focused on whether Jonasi qualified as the prevailing party for purposes of California's anti-SLAPP law after Morake withdrew his claims.
The judgment therefore represents a legal victory for Jonasi on the issue of attorneys' fees, rather than a ruling on the cultural or linguistic meaning of the Circle of Life chant.
Source - NewZimbabwe
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