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Spencer Elden is suing group Nirvana, after being portrayed as a baby on the cover of the group’s “Nevermind” album, alleging sexual abuse.
The blanket shows Elden as a four-month-old in a swimming pool, trying to grab a dollar bill hanging in front of him on a fishing line.
Elden, now 30, claims his parents never signed a statement allowing his photo to be used in the album.
He also claims that the nude image is classified as child pornography.
Legal documents filed with a California court say that “the photographs revealed the private part of Spencer’s body and showed his genitals erotically from his childhood to the present day.”
Non-sexual images of infants are generally not considered child pornography under US law.
However, Elden’s attorney, Robert Y. Lewis, argues that the inclusion of a dollar bill (added after the photo was taken) makes the minor appear to be “a sex worker.”
The court case also alleges that Nirvana promised to cover Elden’s genitals with a sticker, but the team broke the deal.
Elden claims that his “true identity and legal name are forever linked to the commercial sexual exploitation he suffered as a minor and which has been distributed and sold around the world from his childhood to the present day.” .
He claims he has “suffered and will continue to suffer lifelong damage” as a result of this work of art, including “extreme and lasting emotional distress” and “an impact on his normal growth and educational progress”, as well as to receive “medical and psychological treatment”.
He seeks damages of at least $ 150,000 from each of the 15 defendants, including surviving group members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic; Kurt Cobain’s property managers; Cobain’s ex-wife, Courtney Love; Photographer Kirk Weddell.
Representatives of Nirvana and their record companies have yet to respond to the allegations.
Elden reprized his image on the album cover several times as a teen and adult, still in a bathing suit, to celebrate Nevermind’s 10th and 25th birthdays.
However, he sometimes expressed hesitation about the photoshoot. In 2016, he told TIME magazine that he was “a little upset” by his age.
“I really noticed that I was part of this huge project,” he said. “It’s so hard – you feel like you’re famous for nothing.”
He continued, “It’s hard not to be upset when you hear how much money the project has made. [عندما] I go to a baseball game and think about it: Oh man, maybe everyone in that baseball game saw my cock when I was a kid, and I feel like a game of my human rights has been removed. “
But in other interviews, he was more cheerful about the photo.
“It was always a positive thing and it opened doors for me,” he told the Guardian newspaper six years ago.
“I’m 23 now and I’m an artist, and this story gave me the chance to work with Shepherd Fairey for five years, and it was a great experience. He’s a great music connoisseur: when he discovered that I was a child of Nirvana, that was really cool. ”
In 2008, Rick Spencer’s dad recounted an NBC photoshoot. with me. AR, saying Weddell, who was a family friend, offered him $ 200 to participate.
“We just had a big party around the pool, and no one had a clue what was going on!” He added.
The family soon forgot to take pictures until, three months later, they saw Nevermind’s cover on the wall of Tower Records in Los Angeles.
Two months later, an article reported on it. with me. “Geffen Records sent 1-year-old Spencer Elden a platinum album and a teddy bear.”
The album, which included hits such as “Teen Spirit”, “Cam As You” and “Lithium”, sold 30 million copies worldwide.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2019, Weddle said he was still in contact with Elden and admitted he was “confused about the photo”.
“He feels like everyone made money with Elden, but not him. I think he deserves something. But it’s always the record companies that make the money.”
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