Nirvana Is Being Sued By The Baby On ‘Nevermind’ Cover For Sexual Exploitation
Image via Amazon
Nirvana’s Nevermind artwork, depicting a naked four-month-old baby swimming underwater while reaching for a dollar bill, is easily one of the most iconic album covers in existence.
That baby, Spencer Elden, is now a 30-year-old adult. And he’s now suing the band for using this image, in the name of child sexual exploitation.
According to the legal claim, Elden says that his parents never officially authorized the image being used on the album cover, that it counts towards child pornography, and the inclusion of the dollar bill that the baby is reaching towards makes him look like a sex worker.
There is also an allegation that Elden’s genitals were promised to be covered with a sticker, but that clearly never happened. However, it’s a little questionable considering the previous argument that the image wasn’t supposed to be authorized.
This lawsuit has been filed in a Californian district court against up to 15 parties. This includes surviving members of the band, Kurt Cobain’s widow Courtney Love, photographer Kirk Weddle, and record labels that distributed the album in the last 30 years.
Elden is seeking that each defendant compensates at least US$150,000, according to The Guardian.
It has also been reported that Elden has sustained “lifelong damages” from the album cover. This is clarified as “extreme and permanent emotional distress with physical manifestations.”
The BBC recounts that the Elden family was part of Weddle’s shoot as he was a family friend, but they didn’t think much of it. Three months later, they saw their baby on the album cover, which was displayed on the wall of Los Angeles’ Tower Records.
In an interview with The Guardian in 2019, Weddle called the photo “such a d**k shot” since “his unit was so prominent in the picture… he’s a well hung kid for a four-month old, you know?”
However, when stating that he was still in contact with Elden, he also acknowledges that the now-grownup is “conflicted” about the picture, having felt like “everybody made money off it and he didn’t.”
Elden was given a US$200 by Weddle, who received US$10,00 from the record label, for the photo. Later, he also got a platinum album and teddy bear by Geffen Records when he was one year old.
“I think he deserves something,” Weddle clarifies. “But it’s always the record labels that make the money.”
The album, which included the hit Smells Like Teen Spirit, went on to sell 30 million copies worldwide.
[via The Guardian, cover image via Amazon]
Also check out these recent news
