Dave Grohl on Nevermind baby lawsuit: "He’s got a Nevermind tattoo"
28 October 2021, 09:00 | Updated: 4 January 2022, 17:26
The Foo Fighters frontman has been asked about the ongoing legal tussle with the cover star Spencer Elden, who claims the artwork should be censored.
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Dave Grohl has spoken out about the ongoing lawsuit between Nirvana and the cover star of the band’s Nevermind artwork.
Earlier this year, Spencer Elden, the baby who appears in the iconic artwork, instigated legal action against the surviving members of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain’s estate, claiming the image was an example of child pornography and sexual exploitation.
In a new interview, Grohl has shared his latest thoughts about the issue. Talking to Vulture, he said: “I don’t know that I can speak on it because I haven’t spent too much time thinking about it. I feel the same way most people do in that I have to disagree. That’s all I’ll say.”
When asked about his thoughts on Elden re-creating the photo several times as an adult, he added: “Listen, he’s got a ‘Nevermind’ tattoo. I don’t.”
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A deluxe reissue of Nevermind is due in November in the wake of its 30th anniversary last month, but Elden has said he wants the image censored and the album art altered for any new editions.
His lawyer Maggie Mabie told the Associated Press: “If there is a 30th anniversary re-release, he wants for the entire world not to see his genitals.”
Spencer, who’s now 30, has previously re-created the cover without the nudity on previous album anniversaries but has expressed mixed feelings in the past about the artwork.
Speaking to Time Magazine for the album’s 25th anniversary he called the album cover “genius” and said he has the Nevermind emblem tattooed on his chest.
However, he added: “It’s hard not to get upset when you hear about how much money was involved… [When] I go to a baseball game and think about it, “‘Man, everybody at this baseball game has probably seen my little baby penis’, I feel like I got part of my human rights revoked."
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