Spencer Elden, the naked baby shown swimming after a dollar bill on the cover art of Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind, has failed in his bid to convince a judge that the image constitutes child pornography, Billboard reports. Initially filed in 2021, Elden’s lawsuit against Nirvana was dismissed a year later for falling outside the statute of limitations. But a federal appeals court overturned the ruling in 2023, opening the door for further litigation. Now, Judge Fernando M. Olguin has dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that it does not meet the definition of pornography. “Nudity must be coupled with other circumstances that make the visual depiction lascivious or sexually provocative,” the judge wrote, quoting an earlier ruling.
Olguin compared the image to “a family photo of a nude child bathing,” adding, “Neither the pose, focal point, setting, nor overall context suggest the album cover features sexually explicit conduct.” He also noted that Elden had sold autographed memorabilia and promoted himself as the “Nirvana baby” over the years, undermining his claim of having suffered “serious damages.”
Elden appeared on the album cover because his father, Rick, was friends with the cover photographer Kirk Weddle, whom Elden named in the original lawsuit alongside Nirvana and the labels behind Nevermind. Despite his apparent discomfort later, Elden recreated the image multiple times over the years and has the word “Nevermind” tattooed on his chest.
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