Comedian faces £27m lawsuit for Lion King joke

Source: thetimes.com

A South African firm called Motherland is suing Australian comedian Jim Jefferies for £27 million, alleging a joke he made in his 2018 Netflix special damaged their reputation. Jefferies quipped that Motherland's logo resembled The Lion King's famous dawn sequence, suggesting they copied Disney. The case highlights tensions between comedy free speech and defamation laws, especially across borders, and matters because it could chill humour targeting businesses.