Spencer Elden, the man who claims he was the baby featured on the cover of NIRVANA‘s Nevermind album, has amended his lawsuit against the band.
Accoring to report from Rolling Stone, the claim now includes the allegation that photographer Kirk Weddle also shot images of Elden styled to look like Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, while also dropping former NIRVANA drummer Chad Channing as a defendant in the case.
The document states: “Undated journals written by Cobain sketch the album cover in a sexual manner, with sem*n all over it. In several instances, the journals describe Cobain‘s twisted vision for the Nevermind album cover, along with his emotional struggles: ‘I like to make incisions into the belly of infants then f*ck the incision until the child dies.'”
The documents also repeat the claim that Weddle intended to “trigger a visceral sexual response from the viewer” by activating “Spencer‘s ‘gag reflex’ before throwing him underwater in poses highlighting and emphasizing Spencer‘s exposed genitals.”
“Weddle soon after produced photographs of Spencer dressed up and depicted as Hugh Hefner,” document adds.
As previously reported, Elden alleges the image of the baby reaching for a dollar in a swimming pool violated federal child p*rnography statutes and argues child sexual exploitation.
“The images exposed Spencer‘s intimate body part and lasciviously displayed Spencer’s genitals from the time he was an infant to the present day,” legal papers filed in California claim.
Elden claims that his parents never signed a release authorizing the use of the photos, which were taken in a Pasadena aquatic center in 1990. He alleges that the band promised to cover his genitals with a sticker, which was never incorporated into the album art.
“To ensure the album cover would trigger a visceral sexual response from the viewer, photographer Kirk Kirk Weddle activated Spencer‘s ‘gag reflex’ before throwing him underwater in poses highlighting and emphasizing Spencer‘s exposed genitals,” the complaint states.
The suit further alleges the defendants “used child p*rnography depicting Spencer as an essential element of a record promotion scheme commonly utilized in the music industry to get attention, wherein album covers posed children in a sexually provocative manner to gain notoriety, drive sales, and garner media attention, and critical reviews.”
Elden is seeking damages of either $150,000 from each of the 17 defendants or unspecified damages to be determined at trial, attorney fees, an injunction to prohibit all parties “from continuing to engage in the unlawful acts and practices described herein,” and a trial by jury.
Elden‘s parents were reportedly paid only $200 for the photos, and the shoot lasted around 15 seconds.
