Page 7 - IAV Digital Magazine #529

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Man Who Was Baby On Nirvana’s Iconic ‘Nevermind’ Album Cover Sues Band, Claiming “Exploitation”
By Tom Tapp
The now 30-year- old man pictured as a baby on the cover of the multi- million-
selling Nirvana al bum Nevermind fil ed suit today in Los Angeles, alleging the for- mer members of the grunge-rock trio, various record compa- nies, art directors and others violat- ed federal crimi- nal child pornog- raphy laws and caused him life- long suffering by “trafficking” his image worldwide.
Spencer Elden, of Los Angeles, alleges that his “identity and legal name are forever tied to the com- mercial sexual exploitation he experienced as a minor which has been distributed and sold world- wide from the time he was a baby to the pres- ent day,” accord- ing to the com- plaint filed in Los Angeles federal
court.
Messages seek- ing comment sent to the Universal Music Group and an attorney who represents Nirvana LLC were not immediately answered.
According to the suit, the defen- dants “knowingly produced, pos- sessed, and advertised com- mercial child pornography depicting Spencer, and they knowingly received value in exchange for doing
so...Despite this knowledge, defendants failed to take reason- able steps to pro- tect Spencer and prevent his wide- spread sexual exploitation and image trafficking.”
Elden’s parents never signed a release authoriz- ing the use of the photos taken of the four-month- old baby in a Pasadena aquatic center in 1990 and Elden received no com- pensation, lawyers for the plaintiff allege.
The cover
of Nevermind — released in 1991 by the Geffen/UMG label — depicts a naked baby swim- ming underwater, seemingly towards a fish hook with a dollar bill attached. It is among the best- known album cov- ers in rock.
“To ensure
the album
cover would trig- ger a visceral sexual response from the viewer, (photographer Kirk) Weddle acti- vated Spencer’s
‘gag reflex’ before throwing him underwater in poses highlighting and emphasizing Spencer’s exposed genitals,” the suit alleges.
The lawsuit con- tends that the album cover photo chosen by Nirvana’s late leader Kurt Cobain suggests a “sex worker grabbing for a dollar bill.”
Elden’s suit alleges the defen- dants “used child pornography depicting Spencer as an essential
element of a record promotion scheme common- ly utilized in the music industry to get attention, wherein album covers posed chil- dren in a sexually provocative man- ner to gain notori- ety, drive sales, and garner media attention, and crit- ical reviews.”
As a result, Elden “has suffered and will continue to suffer lifelong damages,” according to the complaint.
The suit seeks either $150,000 from each of the 17 defendants or unspecified dam- ages to be deter- mined at trial.
Geffen Records originally shipped 46,521 copies
of Nevermind to retailers in hopes of eventually sell- ing 200,000 copies. The album, a corner- stone of the grunge era, even- tually sold over 30 million copies.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine