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Judge dismisses lawsuit over naked baby on Nirvana's 'Nevermind' album cover

Friday's ruling marks the judge's second dismissal of this particular lawsuit.
Nirvana
Posted at 4:51 PM, Sep 05, 2022
and last updated 2022-09-06 07:55:56-04

A federal judge in California dismissed a lawsuit last week that alleged the photo of the naked baby that graced the cover of Nirvana's album "Nevermind" constituted child pornography.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin ruled that he dismissed 31-year-old Spencer Elden's case because he waited too long to file his lawsuit, NBC News and The New York Times reported.

The album cover depicts then-4-month-old Elden naked underwater, with a dollar bill on a fishhook, which was later edited into the image, dangling in front of him, NPR reported.

Initially, Elden seemed to have celebrated his appearance on the album, having re-enacted the photo during his adult life, the media outlets reported.

But last year, Elden filed the lawsuit against the band's surviving members, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic; the estate of Kurt Cobain; Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love; and others, claiming that he was sexually exploited, the news outlets reported.

Olguin's decision Friday marks the second time he's thrown out the lawsuit.

In January, he dismissed it after Elden's lawyers missed a deadline for responding to the defense's motion, but Olguin gave them a particular date to refile the lawsuit, NPR reported.