Photo by Gutchie Kojima/Shinko Music/Getty Images
- Since being featured on the album artwork, Spencer Elden claims he has suffered lifelong damages, such as emotional distress.
- Elden claims he has never received any compensation for the use of his image.
- Although he has recreated the image multiple times, Elden's feelings about the album artwork changed in recent years.
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Spencer Elden, whose naked baby image was used for the album artwork of Nirvana's 1991 album "Nevermind," claimed the band violated federal child pornography statutes and is suing the surviving members and the estate of Kurt Cobain, Pitchfork reported.
Other defendants listed in the lawsuit include photographer Kirk Weddle and the labels behind the album: DGC Records, Warner Records, MCA Records, and Universal Music Group.
Elden is suing for "commercial child sexual exploitation," arguing that he has suffered lifelong damages – permanent emotional distress, loss of income, and psychological harm – since the album has become "one of the most-recognized album covers of all time."
"Spencer's true identity and legal name are forever tied to the commercial sexual exploitation he experienced as a minor which has been distributed and sold worldwide from the time he was a baby to the present day," the lawsuit reads.
Elden and his parents never signed a release authorizing the use of his image or likeness and he has never received any compensation for the use of his image, according to the lawsuit.
Despite recreating the image multiple times, Elden told GQ Australia in a 2016 interview that his feelings about the album artwork had changed.
"But recently I've been thinking, 'What if I wasn't OK with my freaking penis being shown to everybody?' I didn't really have a choice," Elden told GQ Australia.