Law & Crime
A child pornography lawsuit filed by the so-called “Nirvana Baby” against the grunge superband Nirvana was resurrected by a federal appeals court on Thursday.
Spencer Elden, now 31 years old, was just a 4-month-old infant in the iconic photo used for Nirvana’s iconic 1991 album “Nevermind.” The picture showed a naked Elden chasing a $1 bill underwater. Elden recreated the well-known photo in 2016 in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of “Nevermind,” though that time with swim trunks. At the time, he remarked in a video interview, “It’d be nice to have a quarter for every person who’s seen my baby penis.”
In 2021, Elden sued Nirvana L.L.C., the estate of Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, David Grohl, Chad Channing, Krist Novoselic, Universal Music Group, MCA Records, and other entities associated with the band in federal court alleging that he had been subjected to “commercial child sexual exploitation” by the band’s use of the “shocking” and “sexually seductive” photo. Elden said he has suffered and will continue to suffer lifelong damages from the use of the nude image and asked for $150,000 in damages.
Nirvana filed a motion to dismiss that slammed Elden’s complaint for being, “on its face, not serious.” The court filing argued that Elden spent 30 years profiting from the celebrity of having been the “Nirvana Baby.” The “Nevermind” album cover has been frequently referenced, imitated, and parodied, and is even displayed in the Museum of Modern Art. In the motion, the band pointed to Elden’s talk show appearance wearing a nude-colored unitard, his chest tattoo of the album title, and his eBay sales of autographed album covers. Nirvana told the court that Elden even used his notoriety “to try and pick up women.”
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‘Nirvana Baby’ child porn lawsuit over ‘Nevermind’ album cover resurrected by federal appeals court
