Nirvana wins court battle over naked baby on ‘Nevermind’ album cover

Nirvana has won the court battle to Spencer Elden, who as a child appeared on the cover of his album ‘Nevermind’, released in 1991.

The young man had sued the American group accusing them of child pornography for showing him naked on said cover when he was a four-month-old baby submerged in water next to a ticket.

Nevertheless, The court has decided to dismiss the lawsuit filed. Judge Fernando Olguin of Los Angeles clarified that Spencer Elden waited too long to claim that Nirvana sexually exploited him.

“Plaintiff does not allege that he knew of a violation that occurred when he was a minor or of an injury that forms the basis of the claim within ten years of the filing of this action,” Olguín wrote.

This is not the first time Spencer Elen has tried to take her case to trial. In August 2021 she filed her first lawsuit, but it was dismissed and in January 2022 she filed the second, arguing that her parents had not authorized the use of her image in that way and requesting that they compensate her with 150,000 dollars in damages.

The defendants included Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, the late lead singer Kurt Cobain’s widow Courtney Love, several record labels, and photographer Kirk Weddle. Now, the judge’s dismissal prevents him from making a fourth lawsuit.

‘Nevermind’ has become one of Nirvana’s most popular albums. A success that is not only due to the great songs it contains, but its cover was also a revolution, becoming music history and exceeding 30 million sales.

The plaintiff recreated the photograph

The truth is that the plaintiff has recreated said photograph on several occasions. Spencer Elden was interviewed in 2003, aged 12, by Rolling Stone magazine about the photo, saying that he “will probably make some money out of it.”

A few years later, in 2016, he recreated the image as an adult with ‘Nevermind’ tattooed on his chest.