Nirvana ‘Nevermind’ Lawsuit Amended to Include Graphic Kurt Cobain Journal Entries
The Nirvana Nevermind lawsuit has taken a turn for the bizarre with an amendment to the original filing to include very graphic personal journal entries from Kurt Cobain.
As previously reported, Spencer Elden, who famously appeared on the cover of Nevermind as a baby, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court in the Central District of California in August on charges of child pornography. A number of defendants were listed including the surviving member of Nirvana, Universal Music Group, Geffen Records, Nevermind photographer Kirk Weddle, Courtney Love (who’s the executor of Kurt Cobain’s estate), and Chad Channing, who was Nirvana’s original drummer that was initially uncredited for playing cymbals on the track “Polly.”
The lawsuit states, in part, “Defendants knowingly produced, possessed, and advertised commercial child pornography depicting Spencer, and they knowingly received value in exchange for doing so…Despite this knowledge, Defendants failed to take reasonable steps to protect Spencer and prevent his widespread sexual exploitation and image trafficking.”
In the amended lawsuit, Rolling Stone reports Elden has added new details alleging Weddle shot the album cover “…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.’ Then without elaboration, it adds the line: ‘Weddle soon after produced photographs of Spencer dressed up and depicted as Hugh Hefner.'”
On top of that, the amendment included journal passages written by Cobain that were published in 2002 noting, “Undated journals written by Cobain sketch the album cover in a sexual manner, with semen 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— the incision until the child dies.'”
Rolling Stone noted that neither Elden’s representation nor the defense attorney replied to a request for comment on the latest update to the lawsuit. However, the amended filing has now removed some of the names originally listed as defendants including original Nirvana drummer Channing.
BY THE NUMBERS: Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’
