Spencer Elden , the baby featured on the cover of Nirvana 's album Nevermind , has filed a lawsuit against the band alleging sexual exploitation over the iconic image from 30 years ago.
According to The Guardian , all members of the band are defendants in the lawsuit, with Courtney Love Kurt Cobain 's absence , as well as the record label responsible for releasing and distributing the album over the past decades.
At the time the images were taken, Elden was only four months old and accuses Nirvana of sexual exploitation and production of child pornography, since he could not consent to the photo shoot done exclusively for Nevermind , detailed in the lawsuit as an image that places the child in the position of "a sex worker, clinging to a dollar bill." Although Elden's family received approximately $200 for the photos, the lawsuit alleges that they never signed any release form for the use of his image.
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According to the British newspaper, the prosecution's lawyer cites permanent damage to the young man's life, such as "extreme emotional stress with physical manifestations" and loss of educational and professional opportunities. Therefore, Elden is seeking $150,000 (approximately R$787,000) in damages from each of the 15 parties named in the lawsuit.
Elden recreated the Nirvana album cover several times throughout his life, most recently at age 25. “It’s weird that I did it for five minutes when I was four months old and it became this really iconic image,” he told The Post in 2016. “To be a part of something so important without even remembering it is cool and weird.”
That same year, he was already expressing indignation at the exposure those photos generated. “I’ve been through this my whole life. But recently I’ve been thinking: ‘What if I didn’t agree to show my damn penis to everyone?’ I really didn’t have a choice,” he confided to GQ Australia .
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