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Baby From Nirvana's Nevermind Album Sues Band For Child Pornography

Baby From Nirvana's Nevermind Album Sues Band For Child Pornography

Spencer Elden claims he's suffered 'lifelong damage' and didn't consent to being on the cover

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

The baby whose image was used on the cover artwork for Nirvana's1991 album Nevermind has sued the band for child pornography.

The image of then-newborn Spencer Elden naked in a pool with a dollar bill in front of him is widely viewed as a statement on capitalism

However, now aged 30, Elden has launched legal action against the band's surviving members and Kurt Cobain's estate.

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."

According to documents seen by TMZ and Pitchfork, the lawsuit states that Elden has suffered 'lifelong damages', with the defendants having 'knowingly benefitted from their participation' in his 'commercial sexual exploitation'.

The lawsuit also states that neither he nor his legal guardians ever signed a release to authorise 'the use of any images of Spencer or of his likeness, and certainly not of commercial child pornography depicting him'.

Elden is officially suing for distribution of private sexually explicit materials and negligence.

The suit also accuses the band of a 'sex trafficking venture', claiming Elden was forced 'to engage in commercial sexual acts while under the age of 18 years old'.

California-born Elden wound up on the cover of the album after photographer Kirk Weddle convinced the baby's father.

During an interview with NPR in 2008, Rick Elden explained how Weddle offered him $200 to come to a party and toss his newborn into the pool for a shoot. The whole thing lasted a few seconds.

He recalled: "I was like, 'What's up?' And he's like, 'Well, I'm shooting kids all this week, why don't you meet me at the Rose Bowl, throw your kid in the drink?' And we just had a big party at the pool, and no one had any idea what was going on!"

Dave Grohl, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic.
PA

Elden seemed to embrace his inclusion on the 1991 album in the past, having recreated the shot as an adult and even had 'Nevermind' tattooed onto his chest.

However, he opened up recently about how he's grown tired of being associated with the band.

In a 2016 interview with GQ Australia, he said: "Recently I've been thinking, 'What if I wasn't OK with my freaking penis being shown to everybody?' I didn't really have a choice."

He told the publication that he had tried to get Nirvana and Weddle involved in an art project of his own, but had been referred to their manager and lawyers.

Elden also explained that women would dump him when they realised he wasn't earning royalties from the album.

"You have these people who think you're cool because you're the Nirvana baby. But it's f**king weird, man. It's like that dream where you go to school without your clothes on," he said.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Entertainment, Music, No-Article-Matching