“Nirvana Baby” Spencer Elden’s lawsuit dismissed

On 23 August 2021, Spencer Elden, a man whose photo was used for the cover of Nirvana’s album “Nevermind” filed a lawsuit against the grunge rock band. He sued the band for alleged child pornography and child sexual abuse as the album cover features a photo of him as a naked, four-month-old baby.

As reported by The Guardian, Elden in November 2021 amended the lawsuit, adding details including a passage from Kurt Cobain’s journals that describes imagined child sexual abuse. Elden also removed several defendants.

In response, Nirvana filed to dismiss the lawsuit last month, saying Elden's arguments lacked merit. Elden’s legal team had until 30 December 2021 to file an opposition to the Nirvana estate’s request. Elden’s team missed the deadline, hence Judge Fernando M Olguin from the California District Court dismissed the case “with leave to amend” on Monday (3 January). 

Nirvana’s legal team said that the claim is “not serious”, noting that until recently, Elden had seemed to enjoy the notoriety of being the “Nirvana baby”.

“He has re-enacted the photograph in exchange for a fee, many times; he has had the album title... tattooed across his chest; he has appeared on a talk show wearing a self-parodying, nude-colored onesie; he has autographed copies of the album cover for sale on eBay; and he has used the connection to try to pick up women,” stated Nirvana’s legal team.

They added that regardless of the merits of Elden's case, the statute of limitations on his claims had expired in 201. Hence, it was too late for Elden to sue. Elden's legal team has until 13 January to refile the suit.