Part of me doesn't even want to give this loser more attention on a publication as successful as DOL, but there's no way on earth I wasn't going to cover this story. Spencer Elden, aka the baby on Nevermind, who is now 30 years old, is suing everybody involved with Nirvana's classic sophomore album for child porn.
Spencer Elden, now 30, claimed in a suit that the defendants involved “knowingly produced, possessed, and advertised commercial child pornography,” that they “failed to take reasonable steps to protect Spencer and prevent his widespread sexual exploitation,” that they’ve continued “to benefit from their participation in Spencer’s commercial sexual exploitation,” and that Spencer “has suffered and will continue to suffer lifelong damages.”
The defendants in the case include the two surviving members of Nirvana, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, the three people who oversee Kurt Cobain’s estate (Courtney Love, Guy Oseary, and Heather Parry), photographer Kirk Weddle, art director Robert Fisher, and various record companies and distributors. Nirvana’s former drummer Chad Channing is also listed as a defendant, even though he was not involved in Nevermind. Elden is seeking $150,000 damages from each defendant, plus other legal costs. Elden was four months old at the time he appeared on the Nevermind cover, with the photograph taken at a pool in Pasadena, California. While non-sexualized photos of infants are typically not considered child pornography under law, the suit argues that the images of Elden are sexualized. For instance, the suit claims that Weddle, the photographer, tried to ensure the cover would “trigger a visceral sexual response from the viewer” by activating “Spencer’s ‘gag reflex’ before throwing him underwater in poses highlighting and emphasizing Spencer’s exposed genitals.” It also claims that pairing the nude portrait with a dollar bill on a fish hook makes it look as if Spencer is being depicted “like a sex worker.” The suit also compares the Nevermind cover to other controversial album covers “depicting a child or outright child pornography” like Scorpions’ Virgin Killer, Blind Faith’s self-titled, and Van Halen’s Balance. It claims, “Like other controversial album covers, the Defendants sought to garner attention with an explicit image which intentionally focused on Spencer’s carefully positioned enlarged genitals.” After noting the global success of Nevermind, the suit mentions that Spencer never received any compensation for the photo and that neither he, nor his guardians, “ever signed a release authorizing the use of any images of Spencer or of his likeness, and certainly not of commercial child pornography depicting him.” (Elden’s father, Rick, who was friends with Weddle, told NPR in 2008 that the parents were paid $200 for the shoot.) While Elden has repeatedly re-created the Nevermind cover as an adolescent and adult (though not nude), the suit ends by saying, “Spencer has been and will continue to suffer personal injury by the distribution and possession of child pornography depicting him.” It goes on to state that Elden has suffered “extreme and permanent emotional distress with physical manifestations, interference with his normal development and educational progress, lifelong loss of income earning capacity, loss of past and future wages, past and future expenses for medical and psychological treatment, loss of enjoyment of life” and other losses to be determined at trial.
This poor baby!
You guys, do you realize how much trauma this caused for little Spencer Elden all these years? So much that he hasn't let the world forget for one minute that HE was on the cover of Nevermind and is responsible for one of the most famous acts in music history, not the generation-defining music!
I guess he really has been suffering from life long damages since he's been reenacting the cover his whole life.
He totally doesn't have the same hair as Kurt Cobain, either. There's no possible way this was intentional, and don't you dare even start with the "he has Nevermind tattooed on his chest" because that is simply a coincidence. He could've just as easily had In Utero or MTV Unplugged tatted there.
I don't know if all my readers read the original story that I included from Rolling Stone, but in case you didn't, it has perhaps the most ridiculous claim in the history of courts, dating back to the Roman Republic.
"It also claims that pairing the nude portrait with a dollar bill on a fish hook makes it look as if Spencer is being depicted “like a sex worker.” As we all know, you never pay a sex worker directly; part of the thrill is making them chase their payments on a fishhook like an insurance commercial. That's why motels in Las Vegas sell them in their vending machines next to condoms.
I openly loathe cancel culture, but even I can admit it would be fucking hilarious if this obvious money grab by someone who thinks they matter when they don't winds up canceled for opening their big mouth. To paraphrase Daniel Tosh, "I'm drowning in irony."
Now a small part, and I'm talking like baby dick small part of me feels bad that this dude's family only got $200 for appearing on one of the most famous album covers of all time, but this sounds like a situation where you should be more upset with your parents. Scottie Pippen laughs at their negotiation skills. They're the ones who "whored" you out for two C notes. They must really love you! Did they not listen to Bleach and know that Nirvana was gonna blow up? You should sue them for not understanding the concept of royalties and residuals.
Everybody on earth has the same take, but fuck this kid. This is why people hate Americans. "Wahhhh, you didn't wanna do an art show; I'm gonna sue you even though I've exploited my 15 minutes of fame for three decades!" The funny thing is, if he's really hurting for cash that badly, I feel like a guy like Dave Grohl has the kindness in his heart to throw him a few bones. Instead, Elden is the laughing stock of the internet. This lawsuit could really backfire. Isn't he the one using the cover to pick up chicks? That sounds a lot more like child porn to me. He's basically using it as foreplay.
P.S.
Fucking Nolan Ryan, man.
Double P.S.
Semi-rare, added after realizing Grammarly turned Scottie into Scott, TRIPLE P.S.
I know this isn't Scottie, but his Bulls did beat Sir Charles in the '93 Finals. This is one of my favorite photos of all-time. I abuse that phrasing, but this usage is 2 legit 2 quit (which was Top 5 in 1991).
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