30 years after the release of Nirvana’s “Nevermind” album, it’s time to settle scores. Spencer Elden, the man who was pictured as a baby on the album cover, is suing the famous grunge band for sexual exploitation.
The cover of Nirvana’s famous album, “Nevermind” features Spencer Elden as a four-month-old in a swimming pool, catching a dollar bill that hangs in front of him on a fishing line.
Now 30, Elden says his parents never signed permission to use his image on the album. He also alleges that the nude image constitutes child pornography.
“The images exposed the private part of Spencer’s body and lasciviously showed Spencer’s genitals from his childhood to the present day.“, According to legal documents filed in California.
The lawsuit argues that the album cover photo chosen by late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain suggests a “Sex worker grabbing a dollar bill”.
Non-sexualized photos of infants are generally not considered child pornography under US law.
Elden’s trial alleges that the accused “Used child pornography depicting Spencer as an essential part of a popular attention-grabbing record promotion program in the music industry, in which album covers posed children in sexually provocative ways to gain notoriety, increase sales and attract the media. attention and criticism ”.
As a result, Elden “Has suffered and will continue to suffer damage for life”, according to the complaint. In the complaint, the sum of $ 150,000 is demanded from each of the 17 defendants, namely unspecified damages to be determined at trial.
Geffen Records initially shipped 46,521 copies of “Nevermind” to retailers in hopes of eventually selling 200,000 copies. The album, the cornerstone of the grunge era, eventually sold over 30 million copies, is often known to have helped introduce punk to the general public.
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