Seattle grunge pioneers Nirvana made quite the splash with their major-label debut, 1991’s Nevermind. Along with instantly iconic tracks like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Come As You Are,” the album’s front cover artwork is forever burned into our minds. A 4-month-old baby, submerged underwater, reaches for a dollar bill attached to a fishing hook. Did we mention the baby was fully nude?
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Thirty years later, that baby, Spencer Elden, hit back in court. In August 2021, he filed a civil lawsuit naming photographer Kirk Weddle, late frontman Kurt Cobain’s estate, and surviving Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic. Now 30, Elden claimed that the band violated federal child p*rnography laws when they used his photo without his consent. Although California District Judge Fernando M. Olguin initially dismissed the suit in 2022, a federal court overturned that decision the following year, reviving Elden’s claim. Two years later, Olguin has once again tossed out the case against Nirvana.
Nirvana ‘Nevermind’ Cover Does Not Constitute Child Exploitation, Judge Rules
In a ruling issued earlier this week, the California district judge ruled that “neither the pose, focal point, setting, nor overall context” of Nirvana’s Nevermind album cover meets the standard for s*xually explicit content.
[RELATED: Nirvana ‘Nevermind’ Lawsuit Gets Refiled in Court]
“In other words, other than the fact that plaintiff was nude on the album cover, no other Dost factor comes close to bringing the image within the ambit of the child p*rnography statute,” Olguin wrote, referencing the 1986 case United States vs. Dost.
Judge Dismisses Nevermind Baby's Lawsuit Against Nirvana: "Not Child Pornography" Spencer Elden, 31, said his appearance on the front of the Nevermind record constituted child sexual abuse. pic.twitter.com/WYIwDAMTxJ
— RUI M S CARVALHO (@RuiRaiox) October 1, 2025
Rolling Stone reports that the judge also pointed out that the photographer, Kirk Weddle, was a close friend of the Elden family. Additionally, he said, Elden’s parents were present during the photo shoot.
In fact, Olguin said, Elden previously “embraced and financially benefitted from being featured on the album cover.” He has reportedly accepted money to re-enact the photo and sold autographed memorabilia.
In a statement shared with Rolling Stone, Nirvana lawyer Bert Deixler said, “We are delighted the Court has ended this meritless case and freed our creative clients of the stigma of false allegations.”
What Has Spencer Elden Said?
Nirvana plucked Spencer Elden’s photo from dozens of pictures of babies Kirk Weddle photographed in a pool. Frontman Kurt Cobain conceived the idea after seeing a TV program about water births.
Wary of controversy, the band’s label, Geffen Records, prepared an alternate cover without the infant’s private parts. However, Cobain would only accept a sticker declaring: “If you’re offended by this, you must be a closet p*dophile.”
Elden expressed ambivalence about the cover in the years leading up to his lawsuit. “Recently I’ve been thinking, ‘What if I wasn’t OK with my freaking penis being shown to everybody?’” he said in a 2016 interview with GQ Australia. “I didn’t really have a choice.”
Featured image by Niels van Iperen/Getty Images
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