Cover of Nevermind Vetoed! Spencer Elden Court Battle

The iconic album “Nevermind”, by the band Nirvana, completed 30 years since its release last Friday (24), and when everything should just be a celebration, controversy arises. The reissue of the project, which has 94 tracks including audio and video files, will be available for sale on November 12th, however, its original cover may be modified.

The reason for this change is due to the fact that Spencer Elden – the little baby who was photographed for the album cover – today, aged 30, has been fighting in court since last month over this mutation.

_{Spencer Elden poses with the album 'Nevermind' where he was photographed at four months old (Photo: Reproduction/Instagram)}

Among several arguments, Spencer says that the photo on the CD cover was taken without the consent of his guardians and that the art can be considered pornography and child sexual exploitation. Expecting to receive 150 thousand dollars, approximately R$787 thousand, from each of those involved – musicians Kurt Cobain (represented by widow Courtney Love), Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, photographer Kirk Weddle and record label DGC Records.

In an interview with NPR In 2008, Rick Elden, Spencer's father, spoke out: “Kirk Weddle called us and said, 'Hey, Rick, do you want to win 200 bucks and throw your kid in the pool?' He said he had been taking pictures of kids all week and invited us to the Rose Bowl. We ended up having a big pool party. Nobody had the slightest idea what would happen,” discussed. It is worth mentioning that Rick and Weddle were friends.

The photo that was taken in 15 seconds and earned Spencer's parents $200 – the equivalent of R$1,045.00 – is being emphasized more than the remastering of the album itself. Elden considers that he suffered “lifelong damage”and fights to prove that his parents never signed any document releasing the rights to the image, much less were they paid, contrary to what the band's biographers say, who claim that not only was it consented to broadcast the image, but they were paid 250 dollars.

To the TMZMaggie Mabie, Elden's attorney, said she is demanding that her constituent's genitalia be covered up in all future disclosures and says it is time to “end this child exploitation and violation of privacy”. As the legal battle drags on, fans are more interested in the release of the remastered album than what the project's cover will look like.

Featured Photo: Spencer Elden. Reproduction/Instagram