THE BEAST

Spencer Elden , the man who claims he was the baby featured on the cover of   NIRVANA 's   "Nevermind"   album, has amended his lawsuit against the band to include the allegation that the photographer hired to take the photo,   Kirk Weddle , also shot images of   Elden   styled to look like   Playboy   founder   Hugh Hefner . The new filing also drops former   NIRVANA   drummer   Chad Channing   as a defendant in the case.

According to   Rolling Stone ,   Elden 's updated complaint cites personal journal entries from late   NIRVANA   frontman   Kurt Cobain , which were published by   Riverhead Books   in 2002, in an apparent attempt to prove the claim that the photographer intended the cover image to be sexual in nature.

"Undated journals written by   Cobain   sketch the album cover in a sexual manner, with semen all over it," the document states. "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.'"

The documents also repeat the claim that   Weddle   intended to "trigger a visceral sexual response from the viewer" by activating " Spencer 's 'gag reflex' before throwing him underwater in poses highlighting and emphasizing   Spencer 's exposed genitals." The documents add: " Weddle   soon after produced photographs of   Spencer   dressed up and depicted as   Hugh Hefner ."

When   Elden   first filed his lawsuit against the surviving members of   NIRVANA   as well as the estate of   Kurt Cobain   in August, he alleged the photo of the baby reaching for a dollar in a swimming pool violated federal child pornography statutes and argued child sexual exploitation.

A month after filing his lawsuit,   Elden , who is now 30, requested his genitalia be removed from "all future album covers" on the 30th anniversary of the project.

"Today, like each year on this date, our client   Spencer Elden   has had to brace himself for renewed unwanted attention from the media and fans alike throughout the world," his attorneys told   USA Today . "This is a choice that he has never had."

The attorneys said that they plan on continuing the legal proceedings in order to "bring long-awaited privacy and dignity back to our client."

"We implore the   NIRVANA   defendants to right the wrongs of their past, by acknowledging the harm they have perpetrated and redacting the image of   Mr. Elden 's genitalia from further reproductions of   'Nevermind'   because behind every cover is a person pleading for their privacy back," they added.

A deluxe 30th-anniversary reissue of   "Nevermind" , featuring its original cover artwork, was made available on November 12.

In   Elden 's complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court, he claimed that his "identity and legal name are forever tied to the commercial sexual exploitation he experienced as a minor which has been distributed and sold worldwide from the time he was a baby to the present day."

According to the suit, the defendants "knowingly produced, possessed, and advertised commercial child pornography depicting   Spencer , and they knowingly received value in exchange for doing so. … Despite this knowledge, defendants failed to take reasonable steps to protect   Spencer   and prevent his widespread sexual exploitation and image trafficking."

Elden   claimed that his parents never signed a release authorizing the use of the photos, which were taken in a Pasadena aquatic center in 1990. He alleged that the band promised to cover his genitals with a sticker, which was never incorporated into the album art.

The suit further alleged the defendants "used child pornography depicting   Spencer   as an essential element of a record promotion scheme commonly utilized in the music industry to get attention, wherein album covers posed children in a sexually provocative manner to gain notoriety, drive sales, and garner media attention, and critical reviews."

Elden   is seeking damages of either $150,000 from each of the defendants or unspecified damages to be determined at trial, attorney fees, an injunction to prohibit all parties "from continuing to engage in the unlawful acts and practices described herein," and a trial by jury.

"The permanent harm he has proximately suffered includes but is not limited to extreme and permanent emotional distress with physical manifestations, interference with his normal development and educational progress, lifelong loss of income earning capacity, loss of past and future wages, past and future expenses for medical and psychological treatment, loss of enjoyment of life, and other losses to be described and proven at trial of this matter," the lawsuit stated.

Elden 's parents were reportedly paid only $200 for the photos, and the shoot lasted around 15 seconds.

In a 2016 interview with   Time   magazine,   Elden   said: "It's a trip. Everyone involved in the album has tons and tons of money. I feel like I'm the last little bit of grunge rock. I'm living in my mom's house and driving a Honda Civic.

"It's hard not to get upset when you hear how much money was involved,"   Elden   added. "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."

"Nevermind"   has sold over 30 million copies worldwide and was certified diamond by the   RIAA   for sales in excess of 10 million copies in the U.S. alone.

Via Blabbermouth