Proud of it for 30 years, but now dissatisfied: the child from the cover of the Nirvana album accused the group of distributing child pornography

30-year-old American Spencer Elden, who was photographed naked as a baby on the cover of Nirvana's album, has now filed a lawsuit and demands compensation in the amount of $ 2,25 million from all those involved. with the BBC.

Photo: Shutterstock

On the cover of the famous Nevermind album, four-month-old Spencer is in the pool, underwater, as if trying to grab a dollar bill on a fishhook.

Elden used to successfully exploit his fame. Now he says that his parents did not give written consent to the use of this photo, and accuses those involved in involving him in child pornography.

“These images show Spencer's private parts; his genitals have been exposed to lustful gazes since he was an infant,” the lawsuit filed in California states.

While photographs of children without explicit sexual connotations are generally not considered child pornography in the United States, Elden's attorney Robert Lewis insists that the dollar bill added in the photo montage makes his client appear like a sex worker in the photo.

Spencer Elden is seeking $150 from each of the 15 defendants. Among them are two living Nirvana musicians Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, the widow of band leader Kurt Cobain Courtney Love and photographer Kirk Weddle.

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Representatives from the group and the record company that released the album have not yet commented on the demand.

The lawsuit says the photo, which has been replicated around the world, makes Spencer Elden's name and personality "forever linked to the commercial sexual exploitation he experienced as a child." This, according to Elden, puts him in a state of "permanent extreme emotional depression," which is why he needs medical and psychological help.

Elden used to have a slightly different attitude to this fame. He repeated the famous photograph three times (on the 10th, 20th and 25th anniversary of the Nevermind album). True, always in swimming trunks.

Just six years ago, he argued that photography always opened different doors for him and, in general, had a positive impact on his life.

“I'm now 23, I'm an artist, and this story gave me the opportunity to work with famous street art master Shepard Fairey for five years. It was an amazing experience. He is a great music connoisseur. And I heard that I was the same Nirvana baby, I decided that this was very cool,” Spencer Elden said then.

Photo: Shutterstock

On the other hand, Elden sometimes talked about the negative aspects of his fame.

“It’s quite difficult - you’re kind of famous for nothing,” he said in 2016. “It’s hard not to get upset when you hear how much money was circulating there.” And I come to a baseball game and think: dude, everyone here probably saw your penis as a child. It feels like part of my human rights have simply been taken away.”

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Unexpected glory

In 2008, Spencer's father Rick Elden recalled in a radio interview that photographer and family friend Kirk Weddle offered him $ 200 for a photo shoot.

“We just had a big party, no one knew what was going on,” Rick Elden said.

According to him, the family immediately forgot about this photo shoot, and three months later they saw a huge photo of their son already as the cover of the Nevermind album on the building of the Tower Records music store in Los Angeles.

Later, Geffen Records sent Spencer a platinum disc and a teddy bear as a gift.

The album itself has sold over 30 million copies worldwide.

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