September 5, 2022

The erstwhile naked baby on the Nirvana "Nevermind" album cover has lost his lawsuit.

The Guardian reports. 

But don't go looking for big ideas about parents consenting to photographs of their children or whether a photo of a naked child is necessarily "child pornography." Does everyone with that album in their home possess child pornography?!

The case was thrown out because of the statute of limitations. He had previously filed a case that was thrown out after he failed to respond in time to the defendants’ motion to dismiss. He refiled, but that turned out to be too late.

32 comments:

cassandra lite said...

I think the topless pubescent girl on the Blind Faith album cover was barely 14. I also remember there being little to no outrage over the cover when the album was released, which puzzled me. How could a parent have consented to that?

gilbar said...

Don't get me started on 13 year old Brooke Shields in Pretty Baby

RideSpaceMountain said...

Partly because I'm on average younger than most commenter here, and partly because I've grown up in a much higher saturation of digital culture than people outside my age cohort, there is not one, not one photo of my child that is outside the custody of his mother, myself, and our immediate family.

Furthermore, it was made very and strictly clear to his grandparents that any photos in their possession are not to be shared on social media at all, and once he is of age most certainly not without his consent.

I take a very strict interpretation with photos, of anybody, taken of people without their consent, at any time and at any age. As far as I'm concerned, the nirvana photo isn't just child pornography, it's so much worse. It is a violation of a person's agency to determine their aesthetic for a part of if not their entire life. Just look at what this photo has done to this guy...he will forever be the 'nevermind baby'.

Carol said...

Ooh. Did his lawyer miss a deadline?

Or is this guy just a fuckup?

cassandra lite said...

The Blind Faith cover (referenced above) came out only eight years after radio programmers wouldn't air "Big Bad John" until Jimmy Dean rerecorded the last line to, "At the bottom of this mine lies a big, BIG man" instead of "one hell of a man."

Temujin said...

Honestly, I could be sharing a cab with this guy and would never know he was the baby on a famous rock album. Seriously, who cares? It's only a thing because he and others have made it a thing. And even in that, it's not a thing. All babies look alike except to those closest to the baby. The general public is not matching the baby on a Nirvana album to a guy standing behind them at the grocery store.

On a barely related topic. Speaking of Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters. I saw this video today, of recently passed, former Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins son, Oliver Shane Hawkins, standing in on drums in a live Foo Fighters concert last night. They did "My Hero". Pretty impressive.
Foo Fighters in concert

Narayanan said...

all the baby [now adult] wanted was "sought £130,000 in damages."

how much was spent on lawyers for fighting this pittance claim?

John henry said...

How about the full frontal nude 14 year old girl in john(?) podesta's living room.

Glowi gly reported in WaPo as evidence of the podesta's fine taste in phart and why they are superior (supposedly) to us plebs.

Don't anyone dare call it child porn!

John stop fascism vote republican Henry

Wa St Blogger said...

I agree with rodespacemountain. None of my kids are props for my social media activities. And I for sure would never have a picture of them for in less than modest clothes. The internet is forever.

PM said...

That Blind Faith topless girl "...was barely 14." Very true. She was 11. Cover stood.
Yet the Beatles' butcher meat & broken dolls cover was recalled because 'bad taste'.

Aught Severn said...

Just look at what this photo has done to this guy...he will forever be the 'nevermind baby'.

If he doesn't (hadn't) brought attention to it, how many people would have made the connection between the baby and him? I don't believe his name was on the cover. I always took this whole thing to be that guy trying to make an easy buck.

MadisonMan said...

Curious, I clicked the 'Nirvana' link to see that the announcement of the lawsuit go the 'Lawsuits I hope will fail' tag. (I Agreed). I don't think he had a prayer of winning, given that he has in the past exploited his role.

n.n said...

Was his penis showing? Her pussy? A topless baby, male, or female, is not pornographic in the conventional sense, but it could clear the path for social progress of adults who like to take showers, sex with underage children.

Norpois said...

Good use of "erstwhile." Great word, under-utilized.

Howard said...

Emily Litella bats last.

Jeff Gee said...

All babies kind of look like other babies. Spencer Elden should start a rumor that the Nirvana baby is really one of his near-contemporaries, like Bill Skarsgard or Machine Gun Kelly. There were many rumors about the true identity of the Gerber baby, for instance. It was Elizabeth Taylor! It was Ernest Borgnine! The late and much-missed Dr. John was told HE was the Gerber baby, and thought for years that he was. It used to be on his Wikipedia page. He wasn’t. The myth-o-maniac Kenneth Anger claimed he was the stolen prince in the 1935 version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” but he wasn’t. Mr. Elden could tell people, “No, I wasn’t the baby on ‘Nevermind.’ That was some Dutch soccer player. But I WAS the toddler who was rescued from a well in 1993.” He’s got a lot of options here.

Ampersand said...

It seems weird to me that photos of young children have become presumptively transgressive. Are there really that many mentally disordered predators out there? If so, I have to rethink my view of human nature.

Narr said...

Our son was used in a Sears catalog when he was four, dressed like a cowboy and riding a rocking horse. A beautiful and happy boy.

TheDopeFromHope said...

If his lawyer doesn't get sanctioned, there's something wrong with the system.

Tom T. said...

He's forever the Nevermind Baby because he attempted to cash in.

bobby said...

"Look, look, that's ME! And now that you know it's me, I've been defamed!"

Self-publication is a poor way to profit.

Jokah Macpherson said...

Well nevermind then.

Mikey NTH said...

Weird Al did a parody album with that image and himself in place of the baby.

Was that pornography?

boatbuilder said...

In the article it says that the former plaintiff has "Nevermind" tattooed on his chest, and "got to work with Shepard Fairey" as a result of his connection with the album.

So maybe he's not the guy to lead this crusade.

And its a baby floating in the water, not porn. Are diaper ads child porn?

richlb said...

" I always took this whole thing to be that guy trying to make an easy buck."

The easiest buck was when he was a baby. I mean, IT'S RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU!

richlb said...

My former coworker was once making an online calendar with photos of her granddaughter (like Shutterfly or something). I happened to walk by when she was uploading photos and saw a naked child standing in the bath. I told her be careful or they may flag it. She was like "it's just a cute photo." It was around 2010 and I had to remind her it wasn't the 60s anymore.

wendybar said...

On a barely related topic. Speaking of Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters. I saw this video today, of recently passed, former Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins son, Oliver Shane Hawkins, standing in on drums in a live Foo Fighters concert last night. They did "My Hero". Pretty impressive.
Foo Fighters in concert

9/5/22, 11:49 AM

Brought tears to my eyes. And the song was "My Hero". Oliver did a great job!!

Saint Croix said...

he failed to respond in time to the defendants’ motion to dismiss.

Nevermind!

and then he's all, "no, wait, I mind! I mind!"

and court's all...

Nevermind!

Saint Croix said...

he failed to respond in time to the defendants’ motion to dismiss.

Nevermind!

and then he's all, "no, wait, I mind! I mind!"

and court's all...

Nevermind!

(Blogger I hate you)

Saint Croix said...

he failed to respond in time to the defendants’ motion to dismiss.

Nevermind!

and then he's all, "no, wait, I mind! I mind!"

and court's all...

Nevermind!

(Blogger I hate you so much)

Saint Croix said...

Underwater babies are okay but underwater dogs are the best

Readering said...

Lawyers don't sanctioned over statute of limitations, assuming the pleadings were not knowingly false. Technicality. Burden on defendant to plead and prove.