(CNN) – Spencer Elden, who appeared naked as a baby on the cover of Nirvana’s 1991 album “Nevermind,” has claimed that the album’s iconic artwork is child pornography and is suing the band for alleged “child sexual exploitation.”
The rock album cover shows Elden, who then It was a baby, swimming underwater while naked, his eyes fixed on a dollar bill. This became one of the most enduring images of rock music after the album was released.
But in a complaint filed Tuesday in federal court in California and obtained by CNN, Elden’s attorneys said the image was pornographic and that he had suffered “life-long damage” as a result of his involvement.
The story of the “baby of Nirvana”
Elden, now 30, has listed the band’s surviving members, the executors of lead singer Kurt Cobain’s estate and various record labels as defendants. It seeks to obtain $ 150,000 in damages from each of the defendants, plus legal costs, and alleges that the defendants “knowingly produced, possessed and publicized commercial child pornography.”
The lawsuit alleges that Elden was sexualized because the dollar bill used in the image made the baby look like “a sex worker.”
Elden has recreated the image at times during his adult years, but has also suggested in interviews that he was uncomfortable with the popularity of the album cover.
In 2007 he told The Sunday Times that he found it “a little creepy that so many people have seen me naked … I feel like the biggest porn star in the world.” The following year, he told CNN that he was often asked to attend events like “baby Nirvana.”
Nevermind, the iconic Nirvana album
“Nevermind” and its lead single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” sold millions of copies and helped popularize grunge music in America. Both its content and its cover were billed as seminal rock works, but three years after its release, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain committed suicide in Seattle and the remaining members subsequently disbanded.
Elden told CNN in 2008: “Cobain was rumored to have the original concept of wanting to show a mother giving birth underwater.” And he added: “But the commitment was to have a baby swimming underwater. Or so they told me.”
The lawsuit alleges that Elden “has suffered and will continue to suffer personal injury from the distribution and possession of child pornography,” including emotional distress and loss of income.
Cobain’s wife, singer Courtney Love, is listed in the lawsuit as executor of Cobain’s estate, along with others such as photographer Kirk Weddle and record labels Warner Records and Universal Music Group. CNN has reached out to each of the parties for comment.
Download Wankelmut, Anna Leyne & Martin Ikin – Free at Last – EP Album Mp3 Zip
Download Sonora Carruseles – Cuero, Campana & Swing (with Vários Artistas) Album Mp3 Zip
Download Lolabúm – Verte Antes de Fin de Año Album Mp3 Zip
Download Imperial Triumphant – Alphaville (Bonus Tracks Edition) Album Mp3 Zip
Download Madeline Kenney – Sucker’s Lunch Album Mp3 Zip
Download ROBIN JONES SEVEN – El Maja Album Mp3 Zip
Download VHOOR – Baile & Sauce Album Mp3 Zip
Download Ricardo Arjona – Blanco Album Mp3 Zip
Download Kameni – Love and Hustle – EP Album Mp3 Zip
Download Apache 207 – Treppenhaus Album Mp3 Zip
Download Aime Simone – Say Yes, Say No Album Mp3 Zip
Download M.D.C. – Millions of Dead Cowboys Album Mp3 Zip
Download Various Artists – Putumayo Presents Brazil Album Mp3 Zip
Download Quivver – Takin Over Album Mp3 Zip
Download Mike Shabb – Life is Short Album Mp3 Zip
Download Nqubeko Mbatha – Devotion Album Mp3 Zip
Download Will Tura – Tura 80 Album Mp3 Zip
Download Luke Vibert – Luke Vibert Presents Rave Hop Album Mp3 Zip
Download The Psychedelic Furs – Made of Rain Album Mp3 Zip
Download NOFX & Frank Turner – West Coast vs. Wessex Album Mp3 Zip
Download Various Artists – Soca Gold 2020 Album Mp3 Zip
Download Various Artists – Hospitality House Party Album Mp3 Zip
Download Hit Boy, DOM KENNEDY & courtesy of half-a-mil – Also Known As Album Mp3 Zip
Download Various Artists – Deep House Relax 2020 Album Mp3 Zip
Download Shoreline Mafia – Mafia Bidness Album Mp3 Zip