Will Nirvana change 'Nevermind' cover due to lawsuit?

Publish Date
Saturday, 28 August 2021, 8:37AM

The man who was photographed nude as a baby for Nirvana's iconic Nevermind album cover claims in a new lawsuit against the band that he was exploited for the image.

Spender Elden, 30, is suing Nirvana for damages and one of his lawyers, Maggie Mabie, said her client is "asking for Nirvana to do what Nirvana should have done 30 years ago and redact the images of his genitalia from the album cover," reports the New York Times.

The lawsuit names 15 defendants — including Kurt Cobain's estate, surviving Nirvana band members Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl and the band's record labels. Elden is seeking $150,000 from each defendant for allegedly producing, possessing and advertising "commercial child pornography depicting Spencer, and they knowingly received value in exchange for doing so."

Elden claims that Cobain initially agreed to place a sticker on the album, covering his genitals, but the sticker was never incorporated into the LP design.

The 30th anniversary of Nevermind is September 24. The album represents Nirvana's mainstream breakthrough and a seismic shift in the landscape of pop music in the '90s. Nevermind has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

Novoselic recently hinted that a 30th anniversary reissue of the album was in the works, but he did not offer more details. Mabie told the Associated Press that her client hopes Nirvana takes his complaint into account before producing a reissue.

Elden has the word 'Nevermind' tattooed across his chest and has recreated the album cover at least four times — albeit with a swimsuit on — including for its 25th anniversary in 2016.

He expressed misgivings about the album cover in a 2016 interview with GQ Australia, noting that as a four-month old baby he "didn't really have a choice" to participate in the photo shoot or any say in how his image should be used.

This article was first published on iheart.com and is republished here with permission

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