Spencer Elden, the man who was photographed as a baby on the cover of the iconic Nirvana album Nevermind, has refiled his lawsuit against the band, alleging child pornography, a week after a judge dismissed his original motion.
Elden, who has recreated the iconic photograph many times over the years, first sued the band in August 2021, noting the amazement of the music world that h could be considered “child pornography” and that “by distributing it around the world, Nirvana had become involved in a ‘sex trafficking enterprise’”.
On December 22, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Courtney Love filed a motion to dismiss Elden’s lawsuit.
“Elden has spent three decades benefiting from his celebrity as the self-proclaimed ‘Nirvana Baby’,” read a joint statement.
“He has recreated the photograph for a fee many times; the title of the album Nevermind has been tattooed on his chest; has appeared on a talk show with a flesh-colored jumpsuit who parodies himself; has autographed copies of the album cover for sale on eBay, and he has used the connection to try to pick up women… there is no doubt that Elden’s claims will fail on the merits.”
A judge dismissed the lawsuit on January 5 after Elden’s attorneys did not file an opposition to the defendants’ motion to dismiss by a December 30 deadline.
This week, however, Elden refiled his lawsuit, noting that notes that the band “intentionally marketed child pornography depicting Spencer and took advantage of the lewd nature of his image to promote the Nevermind album, the band, and Nirvana’s music, while earning, at the very least, tens of millions of dollars in total.”
The new claim makes no mention of sex trafficking (phew!) but Elden is still seeking monetary compensation for the photo.
No doubt there will be much more to come over the coming days and weeks.
