Baby on Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ Cover Sues Band For Child Pornography

Spencer Elden, who was shot as a newborn on Nirvana's "Nevermind" album cover, is suing the band for sexual exploitation.

Elden is depicted as a four-month-old swimming in a pool, grabbing a $1 note dangling next to him on a fishing line.

Elden, now 30, claims that his parents never approved a release allowing his image to be used on the CD.

He further claims that the naked photograph is child pornography.

"The images exposed Spencer's intimate body part and lasciviously displayed Spencer's genitals from the time he was an infant to the present day," legal papers filed in California claim per News24.

According to Variety, non-sexualized photographs of infants are not considered child pornography under US law in most cases.

Elden's attorney, Robert Y. Lewis, claimed per BuzzFeed that that the dollar note (placed after the photo was shot) makes the minor appear "like a sex worker."

The artwork has also been understood as a statement on capitalism in other places. Robert Fisher, the cover's art director, explained that Kurt Cobain got the idea for the cover art after viewing a documentary on kids born underwater.

“[He] thought the image would make a cool cover. That vision was a bit too graphic, so we went with the swimming baby instead,” Fisher said.

According to the lawsuit, Nirvana allegedly promised to cover Elden's genitals with a sticker. But the deal was not honored.

Elden claims that his "true identity and legal name are forever tied to the commercial sexual exploitation he experienced as a minor which has been distributed and sold worldwide from the time he was a baby to the present day."

As a result of the artwork, he alleges he has experienced "lifelong damages." He claimed he had "severe and persistent mental distress," "interference with his normal development and educational advancement," and "medical and psychological care."

He uses each of the 15 defendants for at least $150,000, including surviving band members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain's estate administrators, Cobain's former wife Courtney Love, and photographer Kirk Weddle.

Nirvana's representatives and their record labels have yet to respond to the allegations.