# Man Photographed as Baby on ‘Nevermind’ Cover Sues Nirvana, Alleging Child Pornography **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 25, 2021, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489 "2021-08-25T12:55:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/41 "2021-08-25T17:41:43Z")
^^Ah, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/42 "2021-08-25T17:47:10Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > At tourist areas in Thailand, you can buy postcards showing happy little hilltribe children running gleefully naked around their village. The wife was going to send a couple to friends and relatives back here stateside. The cards do look cute, they’re perfectly innocent, but I told her it would probably not be a good idea for fear of being popped for child pornography the next time we entered the US. [_In the Realm of the Senses_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Realm_of_the_Senses) was controversial for non-simulated sex scenes when it was released in 1976 and various jurisdictions censored various parts (pun intended) if they allowed it at all. I saw it in an art house theater around 1980 I thought intact but a couple years ago saw the Criterion disk through Netflix and was surprised the art house film had clipped a scene where two naked children scampered around in a tatami room while their mother smiles indulgently. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/43 "2021-08-25T18:02:43Z")
> **[High Risk (1995) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114437/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2)** > > High Risk: Directed by Jing Wong, Wai-Lun Lam. With Jet Li, Chingmy Yau, Jacky Cheung, Charlie Yeung. After failing to save his wife from 'The Doctor', Kit Li is working as a bodyguard and secret stunt double for the cowardly martial arts film star... Jet Li action film has a naked little boy peeing to make a joke about the Jackie Chan inspired action heros lack of a strong stream. > **[The Possession of Joel Delaney](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Possession_of_Joel_Delaney)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The Possession of Joel Delaney is a 1970 horror novel by American writer Ramona Stewart. Its plot follows a woman who comes to believe her brother has been possessed by the spirit of a serial killer. It was adapted into the 1972 feature film of the same title starring Shirley MacLaine and Perry King. > This article about a horror novel of the 1970s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further s... This is one that does border on child pornography. The 13 year old actor playing Shirley Maclaines son in forced to disrobe and is humiliated. I dont know what the director was thinking. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/44 "2021-08-25T18:06:56Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > The cards do look cute, they’re perfectly innocent, but I told her it would probably not be a good idea for fear of being popped for child pornography the next time we entered the US. I had a similar experience. When my son was about 5 or 6 (close to 2 decades ago), he was playing with two friends, a boy and a girl, and they were being goofy - they took their clothes off and put their underwear on their heads as hats. While I don’t doubt that part of the reason they were having so much fun was because taking their clothes off felt a little naughty, they were just being lighthearted kids. I took a few photos because they were so ridiculous, and I didn’t think anything of it other than, “cute kids!” Of course, the American obsession with how there are pedophiles on every street corner has only multiplied since then. It didn’t take too long for me to realize that keeping those photos - especially since we lived abroad and crossed international boundaries with our computers all the time - was a terrible idea. I swear those photos copied themselves multiple times onto every hard drive on every computer we owned for the next five years. No matter how many times we deleted them we kept finding copies tucked away in some forgotten back-up disk. I _think_ they’re all erased forever now, but I wouldn’t bet my bottom dollar on it. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/45 "2021-08-25T18:07:27Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > The attorneys we use through work bill more than that. (Business/corp law, patent, etc. ) Their defense attorneys receive less than that? I just looked at the bill from insurance defense attorneys in a pretty big personal injury case. The eventual verdict was over $10,000,000. The lawyers agreed to defend for $145.00 per hour. Even at that low rate, many of the 6 and 12 minute entries were cut in half by the auditors. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/46 "2021-08-25T18:29:16Z")
Is it even possible for the plaintiff to prove he was the baby in the photo? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/47 "2021-08-25T18:44:19Z")
I don’t think there is any dispute over the baby’s identity, it’s well documented. Everything about this could have been litigated back in the '90s if the parents who agreed to the photoshoot had any problems with the photoshoot, or the end product. I’m also unaware of any backlash to the nekkid baby from any retailers or “won’t someone think of the children!” groups. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/48 "2021-08-25T18:58:35Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > I’d be hesitant to point to his participation in recreations of the photo as at odds with his claim that he believes he was sexually exploited. The article says that he’s expressed deeply mixed feelings about the photo shoot and whether he was exploited. Fair point. But one point of view on that might be that he was exploited by his _parents_, not the photographer/studio/record label/band/widow of band member that’s apparently being sued. I would _never_ allow my children to be models of any kind (when they’re adults, that’s their choice, of course). We’ve had multiple offers, in the case of my oldest daughter, who’s incredibly photogenic, outgoing, and not _at all_ shy, over the years (since she was old enough to walk and talk), and we’ve refused them all. It seems exploitative to me. That’s my family, not criticizing any other family who’s permitted their children to model. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/49 "2021-08-25T19:00:37Z")
I’m a little surprised at the cynical responses here. Although I wouldn’t consider the photo to be pornographic, I don’t find it difficult to believe the subject is genuinely upset about it. I’m 8 years older than he is, and I actually remember seeing that album in stores back in the day and feeling some secondhand embarrassment, as well as gratitude that my parents confined my naked baby pics to a private family photo album. Our thinking on children’s rights, privacy, and autonomy continues to evolve, and I’m not completely comfortable with parents being able to consent to this type of thing on behalf of their kids. If that means we never get another album cover featuring baby peen, oh well. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/50 "2021-08-25T19:01:46Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > ’m 8 years older than he is, and I actually remember seeing that album in stores back in the day and feeling some secondhand embarrassment, as well as gratitude that my parents confined my naked baby pics to a private family photo album. I get that, 100%. But that’s not the same as a picture of a naked little kid being child pornography. And all the naked pics of my kids will always be restricted to private family photo albums. But sure, they’re going to be embarassed. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/51 "2021-08-25T20:21:39Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I just looked at the bill from insurance defense attorneys in a pretty big personal injury case. The eventual verdict was over $10,000,000. The lawyers agreed to defend for $145.00 per hour. Even at that low rate, many of the 6 and 12 minute entries were cut in half by the auditors. Yes. IANAL, but I am an IT drone at one of the Biglaw firms. Which means I have a godseye view of billing. While our lawyers, at least our partners, do often charge more than $1,000 per hour, the work they’re farming out, like defending insurance cases against personal injury specialists, never bill at anything even close to that. And the PI lawyers are usually billing on a contigency fee basis. Which is not to say that those lawyers doing the actual work in those cases aren’t every bit as good as lawyers as the Biglaw dudes, just that the going rates aren’t as high. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/52 "2021-08-25T21:01:16Z")
I heard a lawyer on a podcast admitting he was fully suing a major corporation for his client because in his words “The settlement they would give us is just a rounding error on their yearly balance sheets”. Was he saying the quiet part loud? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/53 "2021-08-25T21:11:31Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > You would have to suspect she has been joined in just because she’s alive and has money and could be embarrassed by the matter. Any legal strategy that involves embarrassing Courtney Love is a long shot at best. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/54 "2021-08-25T21:17:20Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > I’m a little surprised at the cynical responses here. Although I wouldn’t consider the photo to be pornographic, I don’t find it difficult to believe the subject is genuinely upset about it. I’m 8 years older than he is, and I actually remember seeing that album in stores back in the day and feeling some secondhand embarrassment, as well as gratitude that my parents confined my naked baby pics to a private family photo album. Our thinking on children’s rights, privacy, and autonomy continues to evolve, and I’m not completely comfortable with parents being able to consent to this type of thing on behalf of their kids. If that means we never get another album cover featuring baby peen, oh well. I feel a large part of Spencer Elden’s embarrassment is self-inflicted. Nobody forced him to spent the last thirty years telling everyone that was his baby peen on the album cover. If he hadn’t sought the publicity, nobody would know it was him. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/55 "2021-08-25T21:40:20Z")
How would have anyone have ever known his name to begin with? I mean, was his name on the cover (i.e., a caption?) Or does he think that random folks will approach him and say, “Hey, aren’t you that baby who was on that album cover?” Or was he originally bragging about it as it was his only claim to fame? I doubt that random strangers would be able to identify me solely from a baby picture taken decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/56 "2021-08-25T21:52:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Any legal strategy that involves embarrassing Courtney Love is a long shot at best. Thread win! ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/57 "2021-08-25T22:26:54Z")
Next step: A few million preverts then get rounded up for possession ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/58 "2021-08-25T22:27:12Z")
I’ve thought for years that if a girl ever wanted him to send her a dick pic, there it was LOL. Certainly nobody thought at the time that the album would pretty much hit #1 in every country on earth that keeps a record chart, and turn popular music on its ear (no pun intended). My brother was a college DJ in the late 1980s, and I asked him if he ever played anything from their first album, “Bleach.” He said he did, and said that if a time traveler had come to him and told him what would happen to this band in the fall of 1991, he would have told them they were nuts. (I started a thread of my own about this, because I didn’t see this one, and it was quickly closed. Sorry.) ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/59 "2021-08-25T22:32:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > obody forced him to spent the last thirty years telling everyone that was his baby peen on the album cover. If he hadn’t sought the publicity, nobody would know it was him. His parents made the decision to allow that image to be an album cover. Not him. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489/60 "2021-08-25T22:37:30Z")
As I type this, it’s the #3 CD on Amazon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-photographed-as-baby-on-nevermind-cover-sues-nirvana-alleging-child-pornography/949489.md?page=4)