Iconic cover: Spencer Elden as the model for the cover of Nirvana’s most successful record “Nevermind”.
(dpa) The photo of a naked baby on the album cover of Nirvana’s album “Nevermind” remains without legal consequences after a decision by a district court in Los Angeles. In a court statement released on Friday, Judge Fernando Olguin wrote that the 31-year-old man waited too long to file his lawsuit. He had known for more than ten years that it could be a violation of the law without taking legal action – so any claims have expired and the case will be settled.
The man featured on the album had sued the former band members and the record company because he believed the recording was commercial child pornography. The band’s rights managers had argued that the plaintiff had benefited from his celebrity for decades, even performing publicly for a fee as the self-proclaimed “Nirvana Baby”. They asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed. The picture shows him as a naked baby underwater, seemingly swimming toward a dollar bill on a fishhook.
The video for the cult album: Nirvana with their biggest hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
A lawyer for the plaintiff told Rolling Stone magazine that he would take further legal action against the decision. “The ‘Nevermind’ cover was created at a time when Spencer was a baby and it’s impossible for him not to be a victim as long as the shot continues to spread,” she told the magazine on Saturday.
According to the lawsuit, the man saw his genitals depicted as “lascivious” on the band’s album, which has sold more than 30 million copies. He demanded a total of millions in compensation from the defendants. The photo led to “extreme and lasting emotional stress” for him. The plaintiff’s chances of success were also limited by the fact that he himself had reproduced the iconic motif several times. Most recently, he jumped into a pool in 2016 for the 25th anniversary of the album – but with swimming trunks. The lettering “Nevermind” is also tattooed on his chest.