Spencer Elden, who sued Nirvana and appeared on the cover of the “Nevermind” album, edited his lawsuit – now including disturbing excerpts from Kurt Cobain’s journal

Author Samuel Järvinen - 23.11.2021

Spencer Elden, who appeared on the cover of rock band Nirvana’s classic 1991 album “Nevermind”, has sued the band and its collaborators over the cover. Elden claimed that the cover constituted as “sexual abuse and child pornography” and sought to be paid damages of at least $150 000.

Now Elden has amended his lawsuit. The band’s ex-drummer Chad Channing, Warner Music, Live Nationion’s Heather Perry and manager Guy Oseary, who were originally named as defendants, are no longer on the list.

However, the indictment still maintains that the album cover was intended to “evoke a visceral sexual response in the viewer”. Elden also claims that Kirk Weddle, who took the photo, also took a picture of Elden dressed as the now deceased Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner.

Undated extracts from Kurt Cobain’s diary have been included to support these claims. According to Rolling Stone, the paperwork reads:

“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 fuck the incision until the child dies.’”

Released in 1991, “Nevermind” is considered the greatest rock album of its time; the album that triggered the grunge wave of the 90s has already sold 10 times the number required to go platinum.