The Nirvana "Nevermind" Baby Just Had His Lawsuit Dismissed by a Judge

The cover art for Nirvana's "Nevermind" album has arguably become one of the most famous in the history of modern rock and roll music. Since the album's release in 1991, the photograph of a baby swimming fully nude in a pool toward a dollar bill suspended from a fishing line has been met with polarized reactions. This has, for better or worse, solidified its status as one of the most well-known album covers.

Although the baby who was featured in the cover art is now a grown man, his moment of fame as a 4-month-old infant defined his public persona for decades. With that being said, where is the Nirvana "Nevermind" baby now? Keep reading for all of the known details.

Although Spencer Elden may be ridiculously famous for the photoshoot he did when he was only 4 months old, he lived the next three decades of his life fairly under the radar.

He's been said to work as an artist, but if you're looking to follow him on social media, it seems that Spencer's Instagram account is dormant. The most recent image was shared in 2016. In it, he stands on what appears to be the roof of a house.

This doesn't mean that he has forgotten the album that made him iconic, however. In a since-deleted post, Spencer shared a remake he did in 2015 of the album cover as a 25-year-old, albeit this time he wore a bathing suit instead of posing fully nude.

A recent post on social media regarding Spencer came by way of his apparent girlfriend at the time, Angela Marie Najand, who shared a photo of the couple on June 5, 2021. She insinuated in the comments under the post that they were planning to get married soon.

Based on the fact that her name on Facebook is now reading as Angela Najand Elden, it's safe to assume the two got married since then.

In an apparent change of heart from his past embracement of the "Nevermind" cover, Spencer filed a lawsuit in August 2021 and named 17 defendants who were involved in the creation of the project.

He alleged in his suit that the photo is child pornography, and he sought roughly $150,000 in damages.

Those named in the suit included Nirvana as a brand entity, Universal Records, Warner Records, Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl, and Courtney Love (who serves as the executor of Kurt Cobain’s estate), as well as Heather Parry and Guy Oseary (who both work as managers of Kurt's estate).

Spencer's lawyer, per CNBC, claimed at the time that out of all of the photos from the shoot, the band chose to depict Spencer as "a sex worker — grabbing for a dollar bill that is positioned dangling from a fishhook in front of his nude body."

The album cover's star further alleged through his representation that neither Spencer nor his parents signed a release for the photo to be used. He also claimed to have suffered lifelong psychological damage because his picture was used for the cover art.

The lawsuit mentioned that there were disagreements over the photo choice and that an agreement was reached to place a sticker over his genitalia, but that it was "was never incorporated into the album cover."

As previously mentioned, Spencer's controversial take on the "Nevermind" cover was a departure from his past embracing of the album that made him famous. Due to his change of heart, Nirvana fans flooded Twitter and the comments under his last post on Instagram, claiming that he only pursued legal action against the band now for financial gain.

"You have 'Nevermind' tatted on your chest. Get a f--king job, clown," wrote one user.

"This is clearly just a cash grab. I mean he even recreated the photo. How anyone could look at this suit and not think bulls--t is beyond me," added another.

"You deleted the post with the album in your hands," said one more commenter, referring to the 2015 "Nevermind" cover remake photoshoot that he reportedly even offered to do naked with the photographer (who suggested at the time that he remain clothed).

The most recent update in Spencer's legal battle against Nirvana comes as a serious blow to his position in the case, as a judge dismissed the lawsuit in September 2022, ruling that the claims had exceeded the ten-year statute of limitations.

A lawyer for photographer Kirk Weddle, who shot the controversial photo in 1991, said he was proud of the win and noted (per the Austin American-Statesman) that "[c]learly, the album cover is not pornographic, but an innocent photo of an infant. Mr. Elden was proud of his role and talked of it frequently over the years before he suddenly decided to claim damages."

Per the outlet, Spencer's attorney stated that "[h]is childhood self continues to be invaded and he will be repeatedly victimized as long as the 'Nevermind' cover continues to be distributed."

Spencer's team plans to appeal the court's decision.