Nirvana sued by baby on 'Nevermind' cover for alleged child pornography

Spencer Elden, the 30-year-old who was famously pictured as a baby on the cover of Nirvana‘s Nevermind, is suing the surviving members of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain’s estate, photographer Kirk Weddle, and the labels involved in releasing the album, claiming the image is child pornography and arguing child sexual exploitation, TMZ reports. Elden is seeking $150,000 from each party named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit states, “The permanent harm he has proximately suffered includes but is not limited to extreme and permanent emotional distress with physical manifestations, interference with his normal development and educational progress, lifelong loss of income earning capacity, loss of past and future wages, past and future expenses for medical and psychological treatment, loss of enjoyment of life, and other losses to be described and proven at trial of this matter.”

The lawsuit also claims that “neither Spencer nor his legal guardians ever signed a release authorizing the use of any images of Spencer or of his likeness, and certainly not of commercial child pornography depicting him.”

Elden had recreated the Nevermind photo at various points throughout his life — as recently as 2016 — and he has the word “nevermind” tattooed on his chest, but in a 2016 interview with GQ Australia, he changed his tone. “It’s fucked up,” Elden said. “I’m pissed off about it, to be honest.” When the interviewer asked Elden why his feelings changed, he replied, “Just a few months ago, when I was reaching out to Nirvana to see if they wanted to be part of my art show. I was getting referred to their managers and their lawyers. Why am I still on their cover if I’m not that big of a deal?”