He may have the last laugh.
A comedian who was sued by the singer of a hit tune featured in Disney’s “The Lion King” was served the $27 million lawsuit while performing a set onstage — but said it surprisingly made his show even funnier.
Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Jonasi was in the middle of telling a joke at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, when someone suddenly slipped legal papers onto the stage, he told The Post Friday.
“It actually made the show better,” he said. “The audience thought it was a bit at first. I was like, ‘no I’m actually getting served.’ It was a real moment and the energy of the room went up. It was the feeling of, ‘Wait, did this actually happen?’
“I thrive in the unexpected. I like a good challenge, I like a good heckle.”
Jonasi was slapped with the summons by Grammy-winning South American vocalist Lebohang Morake over the famous opening chant in the song “Circle of Life” at the beginning of the popular animated 1994 movie.
The funnyman had joked that the song’s chant “Nants’ingonyama bagithi Baba” is literally translated to, “Look, there’s a lion. Oh my God,” on the podcast “One54” — allegedly damaging Morake’s reputation and hurting his business relationships, court papers said.
Disney’s official translation of the phrase, sung in the South African language of Zulu, is “All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king.”
The comic learned of the March 16 legal filing, which seeks more than $27 million in damages, while poking fun of West Virginia on stage four days later, he said.
“The joke was that it was my dream to come to America because America advertises itself so well with Las Vegas and Times Square,” he told The Post. “And then I went to a place called West Virginia.”
“And right then I got served,” he said. Footage captured the bizzare moment as Jonasi laughs it off while some audience members sit stunned.
The federal lawsuit alleges the “Lion King” joke “diminishes” the song’s value, and has a negative impact on Morake’s royalty income and reputation.
Jonasi called the claims absurd — considering the bit sparked new interest in a more than 30-year-old song.
“I’ve actually gotten a lot of messages saying, ‘Hey that joke actually made me wanna go back and watch the movie again. It has revived people’s interest in the song. It actually made it more relevant,” he said.
“Before this, most people didn’t even know the chant was actually words. [Now] I’m getting so many videos of people holding up their dogs saying ‘Look, it’s a lion. Oh my god!.’”
During Jonasi’s appearance on the podcast, the hosts burst into laughter after he made the “translation” — saying they thought it meant something “beautiful and majestic.”
“You’re joking. That is not what that means,” one of the hosts says — to which Jonasi allegedly “doubled down,” insisting, “That’s exactly what it means,” according to court papers.
The word “lion,” however, can be interpreted as “king” in the language depending on context.
“It’s a joke that’s wrapped around the truth,” Jonasi told The Post, citing the difference between the literal and figurative interpretation of the phrase.
“This lawsuit is really really ridiculous. I didn’t know you could get sued for a joke.”
A Gofundme page is now helping Jonasi pay for a lawyer, he said. It had raised more than $17,000 as of Friday afternoon.
“Jokes open a door to discussion, that’s what comedy is supposed to do,” he said.
“Circle of Life” is performed by Elton John in the 1994 movie, which later saw international stage renditions and a film remake in 2019.