Yesterday, the Marsh Law Firm filed a federal complaint in the United States District Court in the Central District of California against the notorious grunge band Nirvana on behalf of their client, Spencer Elden, who was the infant subject of Nirvana’s breakout album Nevermind which was released almost 30 years ago.
Spencer Elden was exploited as a child and was never able to give consent when a picture exposing his naked genitals was used on the cover of Nevermind – an album that has since sold over 30 million copies.
Nirvana’s commercial success was largely due to Nevermind and Nevermind’s commercial success was due to the controversial cover art which depicted Spencer Elden, naked grabbing for a dollar bill that is positioned dangling from a fishhook in front of his exposed body with his penis explicitly displayed.
“Nirvana exploited me when I was a baby to sell their music, but there is a person behind every image,” said Spencer Elden. “I’m just asking the band to do what they should have done 30 years ago and redact my genitals from the image out of respect for my privacy. If the world could forget about it, then maybe I could forget about it too.”
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