A judge has dismissed the lawsuit filed against Nirvana by the man who appeared as a naked baby on their album cover for Nevermind.
In August 2021, Spencer Elden, who as a baby featured on the cover of Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind, sued Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic (the surviving members of Nirvana) and Kurt Cobain‘s estate for allegedly violating federal child pornography statutes and child sexual exploitation.
In the lawsuit, Elden said he faced “lifelong damages” over the image which he claimed neither he or his guardians consented to the use of. He also sued for what was described as a “sex trafficking venture”.
Now, Federal Judge Fernando M. Olguin has thrown out the lawsuit after Elden missed his deadline of December 30 to respond to Nirvana’s motion to dismiss the case, which the band filed two weeks ago.
According to The New York Post, the judge dismissed the case “with leave to amend”. Which basically means that Elden and his lawyers have until the 13th of January to refile the case, or it will be dismissed without prejudice and closed.
In Nirvana’s motion to dismiss, the band’s lawyers rejected Elden’s accusations as a disingenuous cash grab.
“Elden’s claim that the photograph on the ‘Nevermind’ album cover is ‘child pornography’ is, on its face, not serious,” Nirvana’s lawyers said per The New York Post, arguing that with this logic anyone who owns the cover could be accused of possessing child pornography.
They then accused Elden of using the lawsuit for money, claiming he’d previously shown pride in being the subject of the album art.
“He has re-enacted the photograph in exchange for a fee, many times; he has had the album title … tattooed across his chest; he has appeared on a talk show wearing a self-parodying, nude-colored onesie; he has autographed copies of the album cover for sale on eBay; and he has used the connection to try to pick up women,” the lawyers argued.
Elden is seeking damages, attorney fees, a trial by jury and an injunction to prohibit all parties “from continuing to engage in the unlawful acts and practices described herein.”
Help is available.
If you require immediate assistance, please call 000
If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
