There are many iconic album covers from the 90s that have stuck with us all these years, but maybe none as iconic as Nirvana’s 1991 Nevermind album cover.

You know the one with the naked baby swimming towards the dollar bill on a fishing line against a bright blue background.

Iconic, right?

Well, maybe to everyone except the actual baby on the cover, Spencer Elden, as he has spent the last couple of years trying to sue the band for child pornography, claiming that he wasn’t able to consent to the image.

At the time of the shoot, Elden was dunked into a California swimming pool by his father, who was paid a measly $200 (£152) for the snap seen around the world.

A now 34-year-old Elden initially filed the lawsuit in 2021 and sought £130,000 in damages previously claiming the 1991 artwork led him to experience ‘extreme and permanent emotional distress’ and had ‘interfered with his normal development and educational progress.’

But speaking to The Guardian back in 2015, he said: “It’s always been a positive thing and opened doors for me.”

Then, a year later, he told GQ Australia that he’d grown to become ‘p***ed off’ with the cover, describing the use of his image as ‘f***ed up.’

Someone who was clearly unimpressed with Elden’s changing attitude was Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman, Dave Grohl, who shared what he had to say about the whole thing, and his response was pretty brutal.

Speaking to Vulture, the 55-year-old 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.”

He also referenced the fact that Elden has recreated the cover a number of times over the years, adding: “Listen, he’s got a Nevermind tattoo. I don’t.”

Damn, Grohl.

Dave Grohl didn’t hold back in his response (Neilson Barnard / Staff / Getty)

The lawsuit against the band initially failed, with a judge dismissing the case back in 2022, largely due to the statute of limitations on the case running out.

In court documents obtained by Billboard, the judge wrote: “Because it is undisputed that plaintiff did not file his complaint within ten years after he discovered a violation that could form the basis for his [child pornography] claim, the court concludes that his claim is untimely.”

However, in late 2023, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the ruling that he’d waited too long to bring his case against the band.

They found that Elden could still sue over more recent replications of the cover, including a re-released version of the album in 2021.

His lawyer Robert Lewis said his client was ‘very pleased with the decision and looks forward to having his day in court.’

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…