The baby featured on the famous Nirvana album “Nevermind” filed a lawsuit for Child sexual exploitation and child pornography against the band’s former members. According to him, his parents never signed any contract for consent to use the naked photo of their baby.
On Tuesday, Spencer Elden, who is now 30, filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Federal court against the former members of Nirvana for exploiting his picture. Elden claims his “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.”
He filed the lawsuit against all Nirvana band members including, Kurt Cobain, the estate of the late lead singer, and Courtney Love (his widow). It also includes Robert Fisher, the art director and Guy Oseary, the producer and Heather Parry, and all those involved in distributing the record. Warner Records, UMG, and David Geffen’s are also on the list.
The lawsuit says everybody involved “knowingly produced, possessed, and advertised commercial child pornography depicting Spencer, and they knowingly received value in exchange for doing so. … Despite this knowledge, defendants failed to take reasonable steps to protect Spencer and prevent his widespread sexual exploitation and image trafficking.”
The album cover portrays Elden as a 4 months old baby naked swimming in a pool and a dollar bill tied on a fishing rod dangling in front of him. The photo was chosen by the late Kurt Cobain and demonstrated a sex worker chasing a dollar bill, as per the lawsuit.
It further alleges that Elden’s parents didn’t authorize the use and publication of the photo captured in 1990 at a Pasadena Aquatic Center. Moreover, Elden never received any compensation for it.
The lawsuit claims that to gain views and trigger the visceral sexual response from the public, Fisher created an image focusing on Spencer’s genitals especially.
Spencer Elden claims that the band exploited him for child pornography and portrayed him as an element for record promotion and gaining attention, a commonly used scheme in the music industry.
Spencer Elden “has suffered and will continue to suffer lifelong damages” the complaint alleges.
As a result, the complaint seeks either $150,000 from all the 17 defendants, including former and late members of Nirvana, or unspecified damages for defamation.
