Nirvana wins lawsuit over child pornography claims linked to Nevermind album cover
The legendary rock band Nirvana has finally won a years-long legal battle against Spencer Elden, the man whose baby photograph appeared on the iconic 1991 album cover Nevermind. Elden accused the group of distributing child pornography and sought damages of $150,000 from each surviving band member. A U.S. court has now dismissed the case, ruling that the cover does not depict sexual exploitation, reports G.Business citing Rolling Stone and BBC.
Court ruling
The court concluded that “neither the pose, nor the focal point, nor the setting, nor the overall context” suggested sexually explicit conduct. Judge Fernando Olguin also highlighted that Elden’s parents were present during the 1991 photoshoot and received $200 as compensation. The judge further noted that Elden had, over the years, profited from his notoriety, which undermined his claims of exploitation.
Nirvana’s attorney welcomed the decision, stating: “We are pleased that the court has put an end to this baseless case and cleared our clients of false and damaging allegations.”
Legal history of the case
- 2021 – Elden filed the initial lawsuit, alleging sexual exploitation through his image on the Nevermind cover.
- 2022 – A California judge dismissed the case, calling the argument that the image depicted child sexual abuse “not serious.”
- 2023–2024 – Elden attempted multiple appeals, all of which failed to convince the court.
- October 2025 – The final ruling dismissed the claims with prejudice, effectively ending the legal dispute.
Elden’s use of the image
The band’s legal team stressed that Elden himself had repeatedly reproduced the photo for publicity: he posed in swimming pools recreating the image, displayed a chest tattoo with the word Nevermind, appeared on talk shows in a nude-body suit, sold autographed copies of the album cover on eBay, and openly admitted using the fame of the image to attract women.
Cultural impact of Nevermind
Released in September 1991, Nevermind became one of the most successful albums in music history, selling more than 30 million copies worldwide. The cover, showing a naked baby swimming toward a dollar bill, is widely considered one of the most recognizable images in pop culture. It has been endlessly parodied and referenced in art, advertising, and media. Photographer Kirk Weddle had invited his friends Rick and Renata Elden to bring their four-month-old son Spencer for the shoot, which lasted only seconds.
More than three decades later, the Nevermind cover remains both a symbol of the grunge era and a point of legal controversy — one that has now been definitively resolved in favor of Nirvana.
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