A federal judge in Los Angeles overruled a lawsuit brought by Spencer Elden, who accused Nirvana of sexual exploitation and child pornography using a four-month-old nude photo of him on the cover of 1991’s classic “Nevermind” album.
Judge Fernando Olguin dismissed the lawsuit on Monday (3) after Elden missed the deadline to respond to the defendants’ motion to close the case. He has until Jan. 13 to file an amended complaint to address alleged problems the defendants identified in his case.
In his lawsuit filed in August of last year, Elden, then 30, claimed to have suffered “lifetime damage” from the album cover, which depicted him swimming naked toward a hook pierced dollar bill.
Elden has claimed at least $150,000 (about R$850,000) in damages from each of several defendants, including Universal Music Group, Nirvana drummer and now Foo Fighters vocalist Dave Grohl, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and Courtney Love, the widow of Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain who died in 1994.
“Nevermind” is one of the best-selling albums of all time, with over 30 million sales worldwide.
In seeking to dismiss Elden’s case, the defendants said the allegation that the photo amounted to child pornography was “not serious” in the circumstances.
They cited a 1994 court ruling that said no one could seriously believe a painting by French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir of a naked woman, or a family photo of a naked child in a bathtub, violated child pornography laws.
The defendants also said Elden could not claim to be a victim after spending three decades “making a profit from his celebrity as the ‘Baby of Nirvana’.”
Elden posed as an adult to recreate the photo, including having “Nevermind” tattooed on his chest.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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