Nirvana WINS dismissal of child porn lawsuit by man who posed as the naked baby for its Nevermind 1991 album cover – as judge rules it was too long ago
- Spencer Elden, 30, was the baby seen on Nevermind album cover in 1991
- Elden cited emotional distress, lost earning capacity and ‘loss of enjoyment of life’ continued into adulthood as reasons for filing the lawsuit in August 2021
- Judge Fernando Olguin dismissed Elden’s argument, after the plaintiff said that he had met the album cover’s ten years statute of limitations
- Image was snapped in 1990 in Pasadena when Elden was four-months-old
- Cover shows a naked baby swimming underwater toward a dollar bill on a string, inspired by Kurt Cobain’s fascination for underwater births at the time
- The album sold more than 30 million copies and features the song ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’
Nirvana has won the dismissal of a lawsuit by a man who claimed his depiction as a naked four-month-old baby on the cover of the band’s seminal 1991 album ‘Nevermind’ was child pornography.
In a decision on Friday, U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin in Los Angeles said Spencer Elden waited too long to claim Nirvana sexually exploited him, having sued more than 10 years after learning about the cover.
Other defendants included Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, late lead singer Kurt Cobain’s widow Courtney Love, several record labels and photographer Kirk Weddle.
The lawsuit stemmed from Nirvana’s use of a photo taken by Weddle in 1991 at the Pasadena Aquatic Center in California, which depicted Elden swimming naked toward a dollar bill pierced with a fish hook.
Elden was interviewed in 2003 at age 12 by Rolling Stone magazine about the photo.
He said he was ‘probably gonna get some money from it,’ and recreated the image as an adult in 2016 with ‘Nevermind’ tattooed on his chest.
The latest: Nirvana and estate of Kurt Cobain won a 2021 lawsuit filed by Spencer Elden, a man, now 30, who was the baby seen on the group’s Nevermind album cover in 1991 (pictured)
Legendary: Nirvana became one of the synonymous bands of the ‘grunge movement,’ and was formed of Dave Grohl, the late Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic (pictured in 1993)
Judge Fernando Olguin in Los Angeles said Elden waited too long to claim Nirvana sexually exploited him after he cited emotional distress, lost earning capacity and ‘loss of enjoyment of life’ continued into adulthood as reasons for filing the lawsuit in August 2021
He nevertheless claimed in his lawsuit, which began in August 2021, that he met the statute of limitations because his injuries including emotional distress, lost earning capacity and ‘loss of enjoyment of life’ continued into adulthood.
The judge rejected that argument, saying it would effectively permit Elden to sue Nirvana indefinitely.
‘In sum, plaintiff fails to allege that he knew of a violation that occurred while he was a minor or an injury that forms the basis of the claim within ten years of filing this action,’ Olguin wrote.
Elden had filed three versions of his complaint, and Olguin’s dismissal prevents him from filing a fourth.
Claims: Elden (pictured recreating his famous Nirvana cover for the 25th anniversary) claimed that the band, record companies and creative personnel had ‘trafficked’ his image for profit without his authorization
A lawyer for Elden did not immediately respond on Saturday to requests for comment from DailyMail.com.
Lawyers for the defendants did not immediately respond to similar requests.
‘Nevermind’ features the song ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’ Sales topped 30 million.
Eden was the baby model in the album’s cover due to his father being friend’s with Nirvana’s photographer, Kirk Weddle. The artwork was inspired by Kurt Cobain’s fascination with underwater births at the time.
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