Spencer Elden, the man whose unusual baby portrait was used for one of the most recognizable album covers of all time, Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” filed a lawsuit alleging that the nude image constituted child pornography. Image shown is a cropped version.
Source: ebay
Spencer Elden, the man who appears on Nirvana’s “Nevermind” album as a nude baby, is suing the band alleging the photo is child pornography.
The suit, filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court’s Central District of California, accuses Nirvana of violating federal child pornography laws in using the image and is asking the court for a trial by jury.
Elden is seeking $150,000 in damages from each of the 15 defendants named, which include Nirvana, Warner Records, Universal Records, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Courtney Love (as the executor of Kurt Cobain’s estate), Guy Oseary and Heather Parry (as managers of Cobain’s estate).
Elden’s lawyer said that there were at least 40 or 50 photos taken at the time, but the photo chosen depicted Elden “like a sex worker— grabbing for a dollar bill that is positioned dangling from a fishhook in front of his nude body.”
The filing claims Elden and his parents did not sign a release allowing the images to be used.
Elden’s lawyer claimed he has suffered and will continue to suffer lifelong damages because of the album cover.
