Spencer Elden, the man photographed as a baby on the cover of the Nirvana Nevermind album, is suing the band for alleged sexual exploitation.
The iconic cover pictures Elden at four months old in a swimming pool, reaching for a bank note dangling in front of him on a fishing line.
Now 30, Elden claims his parents didn’t sign any release giving authorisation for use of his image on the album. He is also alleging that the nude photograph is child pornography as his intimate body parts are out on display. The filed legal papers claim that the image exposed “Spencer’s genitals from the time he was an infant to the present day”.
However, under US law, non-sexualised photos of infants are typically not considered as child pornography. But Elden’s lawyer, Robert Y. Lewis, argues that addition of the superimposed dollar bill makes the minor appear “like a sex worker”.
The case also accuses the band of not upholding an agreement to cover Elden’s genitals with a sticker.
Suffering life-long damages
Elden alleges to have “suffered” and says he “will continue to suffer lifelong damages” as a result of the artwork. He says his “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”. It has caused “extreme and permanent emotional distress” as well as “interference with his normal development and educational progress” and “medical and psychological treatment”.
He is claiming damages of at least $150,000 (£109,000) from each of the 15 defendants. This includes from former band members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain’s ex wife Courtney Love and his estate manager, and photographer Kirk Weddle.
Representatives for Nirvana and their record labels are yet to respond to the claims.
Opening doors
Over the years Elden has recreated the album cover to mark Nevermind’s 10th, 20th and 25th anniversaries. But each time as a teenager and adult he has always featured wearing swimming trunks.
In 2016, he told Time Magazine that as he grew older, he “got a little upset” about his notoriety. He found it difficult feeling “famous for nothing”, as he “just woke up already being a part of this huge project”. Thinking about how much money was involved makes it hard for him not to get a bit upset. When in large crowds he often thinks that everybody “has probably seen my little baby penis”. It makes him feel like he had a part of his “human rights revoked”.
However, at other times he is more upbeat about the image. Six years ago he told the Guardian it is “a positive thing and opened doors” for him. The story gave him the opportunity of an awesome experience. People were interested in working with him when they heard he was the Nirvana baby from Nevermind.
$200 photoshoot
In 2008, Spencer’s father Rick recounted to a radio network the story of how the photo shoot came about. He says family friend Weddle offered him $200 to take part. They had a big pool party and “no one had any idea what was going on!”. The family forgot all about the photoshoot until seeing the enlarged picture of the Nevermind album on the wall of a record shop in LA three months later. Two months later the record company sent 1-year-old Spencer “a platinum album and a teddy bear”.
The album, including hits Smells Like Teen Spirit, Lithium and Come As You Are, went on to sell 30 million copies worldwide.
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