Nevermind album cover’s baby loses Lawsuit against Nirvana
The man who was naked as a baby on Nirvana’s Nevermind album cover has had his child pornography case against the band thrown out by a judge in the United States.
Spencer Elden sued the band’s surviving members (Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic), Kurt Cobain’s estate, and photographer Kirk Weddle for a total of $150,000 in damages.
Judge Fernando Olguin dismissed the case on Friday, writing that the plaintiff failed “to allege that he knew of a violation that occurred while he was a minor or an injury that forms the basis of the claim within 10 years of filing this action,” as was required by the statute under which he filed.
The judge reasoned that it would be fruitless to provide the plaintiff a fourth chance to file an amended complaint because he had already been given three opportunities to rectify the inadequacies in his complaint regarding the statute of limitations.
As a result of Elden’s lawyers missing a deadline in January 2022, Olguin dropped the case. However, later that month, Elden’s lawyers refiled the case.
One of the most famous record covers of all time features a four-month-old Elden naked in a swimming pool grabbing for a dollar bill on a fish hook.
Songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” became defining moments in American popular culture, helping the album to sell 30 million copies.
Contrary to popular belief, neither Elden nor his legal guardians “ever signed a release authorising the use of any images of Spencer or of his likeness, and certainly not of commercial child pornography depicting him,” according to the lawsuit.
It was claimed in court that Elden had endured “extreme and permanent emotional distress,” and “lifelong loss of income earning capacity.”
They told in 2008 that Weddle, the photographer, was a friend of Elden’s dad.
At the pool party, Elden posed for an underwater shot with the unsigned band. The original shoot earned Elden’s parents $200.