The now-adult man immortalized as a nude baby on Nirvana's Nevermind cover art, Spencer Elden, filed a lawsuit against Nirvana earlier this year over what he claims is a case of child pornography, alleging "commercial sexual exploitation" of a minor through the reproduction of his image 30 years after its original publication.
While Dave Grohl has dismissed the claims publicly, we haven't heard much in court from the defendants — a list that includes Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain's estate, photographer Kirk Weddle and the labels involved in releasing the album. The Nirvana estate has now responded, and it looks like they're not folding.
In documents filed at the US District Court in Central California [obtained by Billboard], the Nirvana estate fired back at Elden and the case, pointing to the statute of limitations — which apparently expired over a decade ago — and calling the plaintiff's claims "not serious."
The documents read:
Elden's claim that the photograph on the Nevermind album cover is "child pornography" is, on its face, not serious. A brief examination of the photograph, or Elden's own conduct (not to mention the photograph's presence in the homes of millions of Americans who, on Elden's theory, are guilty of felony possession of child pornography) makes that clear.
Elden has spent three decades profiting from his celebrity as the self-anointed Nirvana Baby. But the Nevermind cover photograph was taken in 1991. It was world-famous by no later than 1992. Long before 2011, as Elden has pled, Elden knew about the photograph, and knew that he (and not someone else) was the baby in the photograph. He has been fully aware of the facts of both the supposed "violation" and "injury" for decades.
Previously, Grohl brushed off the case in an interview with The Sunday Times. "I think that there's much more to look forward to and much more to life than getting bogged down in those kinds of things," he said at the time. "And, fortunately, I don't have to do the paperwork."
Elden is seeking $150,000 USD in damages from each party. In addition to monetary compensation, Elden requested the album artwork be changed for all future releases of Nevermind, like the 30th anniversary expanded reissue, which arrived earlier this year.
While Dave Grohl has dismissed the claims publicly, we haven't heard much in court from the defendants — a list that includes Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain's estate, photographer Kirk Weddle and the labels involved in releasing the album. The Nirvana estate has now responded, and it looks like they're not folding.
In documents filed at the US District Court in Central California [obtained by Billboard], the Nirvana estate fired back at Elden and the case, pointing to the statute of limitations — which apparently expired over a decade ago — and calling the plaintiff's claims "not serious."
The documents read:
Elden's claim that the photograph on the Nevermind album cover is "child pornography" is, on its face, not serious. A brief examination of the photograph, or Elden's own conduct (not to mention the photograph's presence in the homes of millions of Americans who, on Elden's theory, are guilty of felony possession of child pornography) makes that clear.
Elden has spent three decades profiting from his celebrity as the self-anointed Nirvana Baby. But the Nevermind cover photograph was taken in 1991. It was world-famous by no later than 1992. Long before 2011, as Elden has pled, Elden knew about the photograph, and knew that he (and not someone else) was the baby in the photograph. He has been fully aware of the facts of both the supposed "violation" and "injury" for decades.
Previously, Grohl brushed off the case in an interview with The Sunday Times. "I think that there's much more to look forward to and much more to life than getting bogged down in those kinds of things," he said at the time. "And, fortunately, I don't have to do the paperwork."
Elden is seeking $150,000 USD in damages from each party. In addition to monetary compensation, Elden requested the album artwork be changed for all future releases of Nevermind, like the 30th anniversary expanded reissue, which arrived earlier this year.
