Aug 26, 2021 12:06:00

The jacket picture of Nirvana's album, which sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, is sued by the person who was a baby model at that time as 'child pornography'

It has been talked about that the baby who became the jacket picture of the second album '

Nevermind ' of the world- famous rock band Nirvana filed a lawsuit against the record company saying 'that picture is child pornography'. increase.

30 years later, the baby on Nirvana's Nevermind cover is suing for damages | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/08/adult-who-used-to-be-the-nevermind-baby-says-nirvana-album-cover-is-child-porn/

Man Pictured on Nirvana's'Nevermind' Cover Sues, Alleging Child Porn --Variety
https://variety.com/2021/music/news/nirvana-baby-nevermind-lawsuit-1235048465/

The problem is the following jacket picture of Nirvana's second album, Nevermind, released in 1991. 'Smells Like Teen Spirit ', one of Nirvana's representative songs, is also included in Nevermind, and the cumulative worldwide sales have exceeded 30 million .

The person who filed the complaint was Spencer Elden, who became the model for the cover art. 'By selling child pornography intentionally and commercially, we used the shocking nature of the image to promote music,' said

Dave, a former member of DGC Records and its parent company, Universal Music Group Nirvana.・ We filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court for the Central District of California against Mr. Grohl, Mr. Krist Novoselic, and Mr. Courtney Love, the wife of Mr. Kurt Cobain, who died as a vocalist of Nirvana. Mr. Spencer is asking for damages of $ 150,000 and legal costs. The complaint also includes the name of Chad Channing, who had already left Nirvana in 1991, when Spencer's photo was used.

The photo has been considered an antithesis against capitalism, as a naked baby appears to be chasing a dollar bill on a hook while swimming in a pool. Also, although nude photos of infants are not generally considered child pornography, Spencer complains that 'this photo is child pornography.'

Spencer's father, Rick Elden, told CNN that the Eldens had 200 rights for record companies to throw Spencer, who was four months old, into the pool for '0.5 seconds' to take a cover art. It was sold for dollars (about 22,000 yen), and the photo was taken by photographer Kirk Weddle.

'(The picture of the baby and the dollar bill together) looks like a sex worker,' said Robert Y. Lewis, who defends Spencer, to claim that the cover art is child pornography. It is sexually explicit (because the genitals are exposed). ' On the other hand, the entertainment media Variety points out that it is an 'abnormal interpretation.'

In the past, Mr. Spencer jumped into the pool with the same composition and took pictures to commemorate the 10th, 17th, 20th, and 25th anniversary of the release of Nevermind. However, in interviews conducted at the same time as these photographs, Spencer said, 'I'm exhaling a deep and complicated feeling' that comes from the fact that I appear in the cover art every time. However, he never complained that the jacket picture was a pornographic picture.

Consistent throughout past interviews is that 'nothing was paid to the Eldens other than the $ 200 paid on the shooting date.' 'Neither Spencer nor his guardian allowed Spencer to take pictures, but did not accept any signatures permitting the use of the pictures, and gave permission to use his pictures as commercial child pornography. I don't. '