A federal appeals court announced Thursday that it will revive a child sexual exploitation lawsuit brought by the man who appeared as the naked baby on Nirvana’s hit 1991 album. It doesn’t matter.
According to AP News, Spencer Elden is the man who appeared naked when he was 4 months old on the album cover. He previously filed a lawsuit against the iconic grunge rock group alleging that he suffered “permanent harm” because the band profited from his image. Legal documents claim the image also violates federal laws regarding child sexual abuse material. However, no criminal charges have ever been filed.
In 2022, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit but allowed Elden to file a version. Ultimately, the judge dismissed the lawsuit, stating that it fell outside the 10-year statute of limitations of one of the laws that was used as a cause of action.
However, just over a year later, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California decided to overturn the ruling. They then returned the case to the lower court.
The panel also found that each republication of an image can constitute a new personal injury. They also cited the image used on the 30th anniversary of the creation of Nirvana. It doesn’t matter in 2021.
“The question of whether the It doesn’t matter “The album cover meets the definition of child pornography and is not the subject of this appeal,” the court stated.
Nirvana’s lawyer talks about the latest development
Meanwhile, in an email to AP News, Nirvana’s lawyer, Bert Deixler, said the ruling is a “procedural setback.”
“We will defend this baseless case vigorously and hope to prevail,” he said.
Elden’s attorneys previously issued a statement to USA TODAY about the initial lawsuit. “This unprecedented album cover is perhaps the first and only time that full frontal nudity of a child has been used to sell a product,” the lawyers stated. “Spencer’s image constitutes child pornography and each of the Nirvana defendants robbed our client of his dignity and privacy.”
Elden had requested a jury trial and demanded $150,000 from each of the 17 defendants in the lawsuit. Among the defendants are Nirvana’s bandmates along with Kurt Cobain’s widow and executor, Courtney Love. The album’s photographer and designer, as well as record companies Universal Music Group, Geffen, Warner and MCA Music, were also in the lawsuit.
Elden’s lawyers added: “As long as the entertainment industry prioritizes profits over privacy, consent and the dignity of children, our client will continue his quest for conscience and responsibility.”
Elden’s lawsuit came a few years after he praised the album. In 2016 she recreated the album cover. “I told the photographer, ‘Let’s do it naked,’” she recalled. “But he thought it would be weird, so I put on my swim shorts.”
At the time, Elden said that the anniversary of the album’s debut meant something to him. “It’s weird that I did this for five minutes when I was 4 months old and it became this really iconic image.”
He then added that he prefers The Clash to Nirvana. “It’s cool, but strange, to be a part of something so important that I don’t even remember.”
There’s no real way to know what changed your mind about the cover.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn