The man who was photographed as a baby on the cover of Nirvana's classic album Nevermind has failed in his attempts to sue the band for distributing child pornography. A four-month-old Spencer Elden was pictured swimming naked underwater on the 1991 LP's famous cover. He sued the rock band and photographer Kirk Weddle, but a judge has ruled that neither the pose, focal point, setting, nor overall context suggest the album cover features sexually explicit conduct. A lawyer for Nirvana stated: We are delighted the court has ended this meritless case and freed our creative clients of the stigma of false allegations.
Mr. Elden originally filed a lawsuit in 2021, arguing that his identity and name were forever tied to the commercial sexual exploitation he experienced as a minor which has been distributed and sold worldwide. US District Judge Fernando Olguin dismissed it in 2022 because Mr. Elden submitted it after the 10-year limit for filing a civil case. An appeals court overturned that decision, allowing Mr. Elden to refile the case. However, Judge Olguin has ruled that, beyond the fact Mr. Elden was naked, nothing came close to bringing the image within the ambit of the child pornography statute.
He likened the image to a family photo of a child bathing, concluding that it is plainly insufficient to support a finding of child pornography. The judge commented, Nudity must be coupled with other circumstances that make the visual depiction lascivious or sexually provocative. He referenced the presence of Mr. Elden's parents during the photo shoot, that the photographer was a family friend, and noted that Mr. Elden had previously embraced and benefited financially from being featured on the album cover. Elden's legal team expressed their intention to appeal, emphasizing the need for awareness and accountability in the entertainment industry regarding childhood privacy.
Mr. Elden originally filed a lawsuit in 2021, arguing that his identity and name were forever tied to the commercial sexual exploitation he experienced as a minor which has been distributed and sold worldwide. US District Judge Fernando Olguin dismissed it in 2022 because Mr. Elden submitted it after the 10-year limit for filing a civil case. An appeals court overturned that decision, allowing Mr. Elden to refile the case. However, Judge Olguin has ruled that, beyond the fact Mr. Elden was naked, nothing came close to bringing the image within the ambit of the child pornography statute.
He likened the image to a family photo of a child bathing, concluding that it is plainly insufficient to support a finding of child pornography. The judge commented, Nudity must be coupled with other circumstances that make the visual depiction lascivious or sexually provocative. He referenced the presence of Mr. Elden's parents during the photo shoot, that the photographer was a family friend, and noted that Mr. Elden had previously embraced and benefited financially from being featured on the album cover. Elden's legal team expressed their intention to appeal, emphasizing the need for awareness and accountability in the entertainment industry regarding childhood privacy.
