The man from the ‘Nevermind’ album photo is giving his complaint another shot in court
Spencer Elden, now 30, has met a deadline to relaunch his complaint against Nirvana, claiming the image they used of him as a baby is in fact “child pornography.”
In court filings submitted on Wednesday, Elden restates his position that the rock band “intentionally” marketed an image that constitutes “child pornography” to promote their 1991 album.
While the complainant alleges the band earned “tens of millions of dollars” from ‘Nevermind’, he claims to have suffered “permanent emotional distress” after being pictured nude in a swimming pool.
“Like creators of other controversial album covers, the defendants sought to garner attention by using a sexually explicit image that intentionally focused on Spencer’s carefully positioned enlarged genitals,” Elden’s lawyers argued.
Further chastising the band, Elden’s legal representatives argued “the image of Spencer with his naked genitals displayed while grabbing at money resembles the actions of a sex worker.”
Nirvana has rejected all of the claims made by Elden, calling his lawsuit “not serious” and arguing that, until recently, he appeared to enjoy being known as the “Nirvana baby.”
“Elden’s claim that the photograph on the ‘Nevermind’ album cover is ‘child pornography’ is, on its face, not serious,” the band’s lawyers said, stating that, if Elden’s claims were proven true, it would make anyone who owns the record “guilty of felony possession of child pornography.”