'Nirvana Baby' Spencer Elden Welcomed Attention From Famous Album Cover For Years Prior To Bombshell Lawsuit
Spencer Elden became famous at only 4 months old when he graced the cover of Nirvana's hit album "Nevermind".
The image, which famously depicts a naked baby boy reaching for a dollar while immersed underwater, has become a cultural icon to fans of the popular, 90s grunge band, but Elden shocked the world when news broke of the lawsuit against the band and its members for distribution of child pornography.
OK! reported that his lawyers are claiming that Elden suffered "lifelong damages" due to his being forced to "engage in commercial sexual acts while under the age of 18 years old" via the memorable cover.
His attorney also stated the then-baby's parents did not sign any form of legal documents "authorizing the use of any images of Spencer or of his likeness, and certainly not of commercial child pornography depicting him."
This comes as a shock to fans because of Elden's involvement over the years in various interviews, photoshoots, and autograph signings for the accidental bit of fame, which led many to believe that he enjoyed being associated with the popular CD.
In an interview with GQ Australia, he lamented some of side effects from being a major part of such a well known photo, and admitted that he has had romantic entanglements end because they realize that he isn't making money off of it.
"You have these people who think you’re cool because you’re the Nirvana baby," he went on. "But it’s f***ing weird, man. It’s like that dream where you go to school without your clothes on.”
Despite his up and down relationship with the shoot, he has recreated the notorious snapshot several times, including on its 10th and 15th anniversaries.
In 2016, the artist — who sports a massive chest tattoo emblazoned with the word "Nevermind" as tribute to the celebrated album — recreated the cover once more at 25-years-old, and even claimed that he had originally wanted to pose for it naked.
Elden told the story of some of the choices made behind the epic photoshoot to the New York Post. "I said to the photographer, 'Let's do it naked.' But he thought that would be weird, so I wore my swim shorts."
He continued on to describe the experience of being the 'Nirvana Baby' as "cool but weird", saying, "The anniversary means something to me. It's strange that I did this for five minutes when I was 4 months old and it became this really iconic image... It's cool but weird to be part of something so important that I don't even remember."
Elden, 30, who attended the ArtCenter College of Design, has been paid to sign autographs over the years, and has even made fan convention appearances.
In spite of the lawsuit, he is currently slated to attend the Niagara Falls Comic Con in Canada in June 2022. His autographs are going for $30 a piece, while professional photos alongside the former Nirvana baby will run fans $40 a pop.
