Spencer Elden’s attempt to prove that the famous Nevermind album cover is child pornography didn’t work out in court.
The whole thing started back in 2021, when Elden tried to sue Nirvana, but his case was thrown out because he waited too long; then, in a twist, a federal appeals court said in 2023 that maybe he should get another shot, so the argument came up again. Judge Fernando M. Olguin, however, said the image isn’t actually pornography, writing, “Nudity must be coupled with other circumstances that make the visual depiction lascivious or sexually provocative,” and he decided the Nevermind cover doesn’t fit those rules. The judge even compared the photo to a regular family picture of a kid in the bath, saying there’s nothing about the pose or the way it’s shot that makes it seem sexual at all.
Honestly, we sometimes wonder how people feel about being famous for something that happened when they were a baby.
Plus, Elden has actually signed and sold stuff related to the album and has even called himself the “Nirvana baby,” which made the judge think maybe he wasn’t as harmed as he said. Over the years, Elden has even recreated the album cover a few times and got “Nevermind” tattooed on his chest, even though he later said he felt weird about the whole thing.
Elden’s lawyers say they’re going to keep fighting and plan to appeal again.
