Resurfaced comments from late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain revealed the singer was prepared for backlash about using a naked baby on the cover of the band's album Nevermind.
That baby was Spencer Elden, now 30 years old and suing the band, Geffen Records, photographer Kirk Weddle and others involved with the record in a lawsuit that dubs the artwork "child pornography", claiming no consent was given to use the image.
Elden claims this has caused him "lifelong damages".
In an interview with Milanote, Robert Fischer, the designer behind the Nevermind cover, said both he and Cobain had anticipated there could be controversy, and even prepared a version of the artwork with Elden's genitals blurred out.
Cobain countered this with a suggestion to "alleviate the problem" with a custom sticker to cover the area that would read: "If you're offended by this, you must be a closet paedophile," according to an interview he gave to Hot Metal in 1991.
Elden's lawsuit reportedly mentions Cobain's quote directly, noting the album was released without any such sticker. The 30-year-old artist is seeking at least US$150,000 each from all the parties listed on the suit, including surviving band members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, along with Cobain's estate.
According to the court documents, Elden is also suing for negligence, distribution of private sexually explicit materials, and what's described as a "sex trafficking venture" that claims he was "forced to engage in commercial sexual acts while under the age of 18 years old".
The lawsuit states that the "permanent harm" suffered by Elden includes "extreme and permanent emotional distress with physical manifestations, interference with his normal development and educational progress, lifelong loss of income earning capacity, loss of past and future wages, past and future expenses for medical and psychological treatment and loss of enjoyment of life."
Elden's cover photo on his Facebook page shows him smiling while posing underwater in a swimming pool in the same style as the iconic album cover. The now 30-year-old also has the word 'Nevermind' tattooed on his chest.
Having previously embraced his role in the album's success, Elden now tells TMZ: "Nirvana exploited me when I was a baby to sell their music, but there is a person behind every image.
"I'm just asking the band to do what they should have done 30 years ago and redact my genitals from the image out of respect for my privacy.
"If the world could forget about it, then maybe I could forget about it too."
