Dylan Bettencourt
An American judge has dismissed a man’s latest lawsuit against popular band Nirvana over an album cover released in 1991 which showed him naked as a four-month-old baby.
Spencer Elden has long sought compensation from the band for having him on the cover naked, which he felt was child sex abuse.
But the judge found that the 31-year-old had left it too late to claim that he had been exploited by the band.
The Los Angeles judge ruled Elden lodged his case long after the 10-year statute of limitations had expired.
Elden’s legal resources are said to have run dry but his legal team told reporters their client would be appealing the ruling.
The lawsuit was centred on the album cover which showed baby Elden swimming naked in a pool and reaching out for a dollar bill pierced with a fish hook.
The angry former baby model claimed he was not able to consent to the image and therefore was seeking R2.5 million in damages.
The photographer, Kirk Weddle, was amongst the defendants that also included former Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, as well as Courtney Love, the widow of late singer Kurt Cobain.
Elden filed his case in 2021, arguing that he was still within his rights to object to the album cover because it still caused him distress. He claimed it had also led to him losing money during his adult years.
The lawsuit was initially dismissed before being re-filed in January.
Nirvana’s lawyers argued that Elden enjoyed being the “Nirvana baby” and even re-enacted the album cover at a later stage in his life.
His parents were paid around R3,000 for the photo for the cover of a relatively unknown rock band.
But the album Nevermind went on to surpass 30 million copies, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Image source: @TheSouthAfrican
