Remember the US$27 million lawsuit over a Lion King joke?
Lebo M, the South African composer whose voice opens The Lion King‘s “Circle of Life” sued Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Jonasi for $27 million, alleging that Jonasi’s viral podcast joke, translating the chant’s opening line as “Look, there’s a lion. Oh my God,” was not comedy but defamation.
The lawsuit ended after a four-month legal standoff, with Lebo M‘s attorneys quietly agreeing to drop the case entirely. The kind of ending that lets both sides claim they got what they wanted. No ruling was ever made on the merits of the case, yet Jonasi’s camp called it vindication, and pursued their right to still come after Morake for his legal costs.
Oh look, it’s a legal bill.
On 28 August 2026, Judge Josephine L. Staton of the US District Court for the Central District of California granted Jonasi’s motion for attorneys’ fees, amounting to US$39,560. So, in a final twist, the comedian who was once staring down a US$27 million lawsuit has had the last laugh, walking away nearly US$40,000 richer in legal fees.
Interestingly, Jonasi’s lawyers had only billed him $5,350 out of pocket; the rest of the work was done pro bono, in their own words, “because of the importance of [his] First Amendment rights.” The court clarified that this arrangement changed nothing about the fee calculation, noting that pro bono work still commands full market rates. The judge, however, declined a request to triple that award as a fee enhancement.
Anti-SLAPP was not only the defence Jonasi used to try to get the lawsuit thrown out, it became the legal mechanism that allowed him to recover his lawyers’ fees. Courts can award anti-SLAPP fees where a plaintiff dismisses or amends a case specifically to sidestep an anti-SLAPP motion, which is effectively what happened here.
SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. The idea behind the statute is simple: no one should be able to use an expensive lawsuit to intimidate or silence another person simply for exercising their right to free speech, or to petition the courts.
Jonasi’s lawyers argued that the claims against their client arose from comedy and protected expression, and filed an anti-SLAPP motion seeking to have the relevant claims struck. When Lebo M’s side subsequently abandoned those claims, that made Jonasi the prevailing party for purposes of the fee award.
Essentially this ruling is saying:
You brought the lawsuit.
He had to defend himself.
You dropped the claims.
Now pay the reasonable cost of that defence.
There’s the bill.
Leave a Reply