Judge Dismisses Child Pornography Lawsuit Against Nirvana Over 'Nevermind' Album Cover

Nirvana have defeated a lawsuit against them regarding the album cover for their renowned 1991 album, Nevermind.

The longstanding case was brought by Spencer Elden, who was photographed as a baby for the album cover of Nevermind, and has sued the band twice. In this case, Elden claimed that the photograph constituted child pornography.

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In his original lawsuit, Elden alleged that the image constituted child pornography and that his legal guardians didn’t “formally consent” to his image being used on the Nevermind cover.

Defendants in the case were surviving Nirvana band members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, Courtney Love – late singer Kurt Cobain’s widow – and photographer Kirk Weddle. They were represented by attorney Bert Deixler.

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In his ruling, American District Judge Fernando Olguin dismissed Elden's lawsuit for a second time, stating that no reasonable jury would deem the photograph pornographic, The Guardian reports.

“Other than the fact that plaintiff was nude on the album cover,” Olguin said, “[Nothing] comes close to bringing the image within the ambit of the child pornography statute.”

Olguin wrote in his ruling, “Neither the pose, focal point, setting, nor overall context suggest the album cover features sexually explicit conduct,” per Billboard. “This image — an image that is most analogous to a family photo of a nude child bathing — is plainly insufficient to support a finding of [child pornography].”

Addressing Elden, Judge Olguin stated that he had profited from the image for years by referring to himself as the “Nirvana baby.”

“Plaintiff has, for many years, embraced and financially benefited from being featured on the album cover,” Olguin said. “Plaintiff’s actions relating to the album over time are difficult to square with his contentions that the album cover constitutes child pornography and that he sustained serious damages as a result.”

As Consequence of Sound notes, Judge Olguin dismissed Elden’s case against the band in 2022, stating that it violated the statute of limitations.

The ruling was overturned in the appeals court in 2023, allowing the lawsuit to be reconsidered by the court. Of course, Elden’s legal team can appeal this ruling, too.