LOS ANGELES — The baby who appeared nude on Nirvana’s iconic “Nevermind” album cover 30 years ago is now suing the band, alleging child pornography and sexual exploitation, multiple news outlets are reporting.
According to KCBS-TV and Pitchfork, the lawsuit, filed Tuesday by Spencer Elden, 30, in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, claims the band members and other defendants “knowingly produced, possessed and advertised commercial child pornography depicting Spencer, and they knowingly received value in exchange for doing so.” Elden, who was pictured naked in a pool while reaching for money, has suffered “lifelong damages” as a result, the lawsuit alleges.
“Spencer’s true identity and legal name are forever tied to the commercial sexual exploitation he experienced as a minor, which has been distributed and sold worldwide from the time he was a baby to the present day,” adds the suit, which claims that neither Elden “nor his legal guardians ever signed a release authorizing the use” of the photo taken by Kirk Weddle.
In addition to Nirvana LLC and Weddle, the lawsuit names Universal Music Group, the David Geffen Co., Geffen Records, Warner Records, MCA Music, Kurt Cobain’s estate, estate executor Courtney Love, estate managers Heather Parry and Guy Oseary, surviving band members David Grohl and Krist Novoselic, former drummer Chad Channing and art director Robert Fisher as defendants. Elden, represented by attorney Robert Y. Lewis, “seeks liquidated damages in the amount of $150,000 against each defendant,” the lawsuit says.
KCBS reported that neither Nirvana’s representatives nor Universal Music Group responded to requests for comment on the case.
Since its release in 1991, more than 30 million copies of “Nevermind” have been sold worldwide, according to KCBS.