Nirvana Nevermind: US court revives lawsuit over naked baby album cover - what has been said?

A US court has revived a child sexual exploitation lawsuit filed by the man who appeared naked as a baby on the cover of Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind. Spencer Elden alleges that the image amounts to ‘child pornography’ and has caused the 32-year-old “permanent harm”.

The case was revived by a three-judge panel of the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in California on Thursday (December 21). The decision reversed a ruling made last year, which saw Elden's refiled lawsuit dismissed on grounds that it was outside the 10-year statute of limitations of one of the laws used as a cause of action.

The panel ruled that each republication of the image “may constitute a new personal injury” with a new deadline. The album cover, which features four-month-old Elden underwater appearing to grab for a dollar bill on a fish hook, sold over 30 million copies worldwide and has recently been reissued as part of a 30th Anniversary Edition.

A lawyer for Nirvana members did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on Thursday evening. However, attorney Bert Deixler issued a statement to Billboard magazine calling the ruling a “procedural setback”.

“We will defend this meritless case with vigor and expect to prevail,” he said.

Who is Spencer Elden?

Spencer Elden was a newborn baby when his parents agreed to let him be photographed for Nirvana's 1991 LP Nevermind. Elden's father was reportedly promised the photo would not show his son's genitals exposed.

Much isn’t known about Elden’s personal but from his verified Facebook page states that he is an artist, with some of his work retailing for over $100. In 2021, Spencer married Angela Narie Najand.

Spencer Elden's initial lawsuit

In the original claim, filed in August 2021, lawyers alleged Nirvana “failed to take reasonable steps to protect Spencer and prevent his widespread sexual exploitation and image trafficking”. However, these allegations have now been dropped.

Elden alleged that his “true identity and legal name are forever tied to the commercial exploitation he experienced as a minor which has been distributed and sold worldwide from the time he was a baby to the present day”.

Robert Y Lewis, Elden’s lawyer, argues that the image on the Nevermind album crosses the line into child pornography, stating that the use of currency in the image makes the baby appear “like a sex worker”.

"The question whether the ‘Nevermind’ album cover meets the definition of child pornography is not at issue in this appeal,” the court wrote, according to the New York Times. The case will taken back to the lower court with the image’s appearance on the 30th anniversary re-issue of Nevermind in 2021 allegedly constituting a new deadline.