Nirvana

Spencer Elden – who appeared as a baby on Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ album – is suing the band on allegations of child pornography.
Image via https://kirkweddle.com/

Still chasing the money: Nirvana ‘Nevermind’ baby’s ‘child porn’ claims

Spencer Elden – who appeared as a baby on a Nirvana album cover 30 years ago – is seeking damages over ‘child pornography’ allegations.

Nirvana

Spencer Elden – who appeared as a baby on Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ album – is suing the band on allegations of child pornography.
Image via https://kirkweddle.com/

It’s an image that represents the angst and rebellion against the political and social climate of that era: Nirvana’s Nevermind album which features a pic of a naked baby swimming underwater, chasing a dollar bill.

The Nirvana baby hits back

But 30 years later, the baby — now a grown man — has hit back at the band’s decision to use his image as the artwork for their iconic album, even going as far as to label it “child pornography”.

Portrayed as a ‘sex worker’

The surviving members of the band – whose lead singer Kurt Cobain died from an overdose in 1994 –  are being sued over claims the artwork portrays him as a “sex worker”.

Spencer Elden, who was photographed as a baby on the cover of the group’s 1991 Nevermind album, has filed a lawsuit against the band alleging the image of him swimming naked underwater is “provocative” and “sexually exploitative”.

NIRVANA ‘USED NAKED BABY PIC TO DRIVE SALES’

In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court’s central district of California, Spencer Elden alleges Nirvana capitalised on the image – photographed by Kirk Weddle – at his expense.

An excerpt from the lawsuit reads: “Defendants intentionally commercially marketed Spencer’s child pornography and leveraged the shocking nature of his image to promote themselves and their music at his expense.

“Defendants used child pornography depicting Spencer as an essential element of a record promotion scheme commonly utilized in the music industry to get attention, wherein album covers posed children in a sexually provocative manner to gain notoriety, drive sales, and garner media attention, and critical reviews.”

Spencer also alleges he suffered “lifelong” repercussions he did not consent to.

“The permanent harm he has proximately suffered includes but is not limited to extreme and permanent emotional distress with physical manifestations, interference with his normal development and educational progress, lifelong loss of income earning capacity, loss of past and future wages, past and future expenses for medical and psychological treatment, loss of enjoyment of life, and other losses to be described and proven at trial of this matter

‘VICTIM’ CLAIMS HE RECEIVED $200 AND A TEDDY BEAR

Over the years Spencer Elden has recreated the infamous pool image  – wearing a pair of swim trunks, of course – several times. 

In particular for the band’s album’s 10th, 20th and 25th anniversary of the album. He even has the word ‘Nevermind’ tattooed across his chest

But Spencer alleges in the lawsuit that his parents were given a measly $200 (R3000), a teddy bear and a platinum certificate of the album’s artwork as compensation.

He also claims that he has tried to contact Nirvana band members, including former drummer Dave Grohl  to discuss his grievances, but to no avail.

A CHANGE OF HEART FOR NIRVANA BABY?

In September 2016, Spencer told GQ Australia that he essentially had a change of heart, and was unhappy about the artwork, which at the time

“It’s f***ed up…I’m pissed off about it, to be honest,” he told the publication.

But his comments were a polar opposite in an interview with the New York Post later that month.

“The anniversary means something to me. It’s strange that I did this for five minutes when I was 4 months old and it became this really iconic image….It’s cool but weird to be part of something so important that I don’t even remember.”

According to Variety, Spencer is seeking damages $150 000 from at least 15 defendants – including the band’s surviving members, the photographer of the image and Kurt Cobain’s widow Courtney Love, who serves as executor over his estate

He’s also demanding a “trial by jury” and an injunction to “prohibit all parties from continuing to engage in the unlawful acts and practices described herein”.