Bill Maher didn’t mince words when he addressed the recent lawsuit brought against Nirvana by Spencer Elden, who was photographed 30 years ago as the naked baby on the cover of Nevermind. During the most recent episode of his Real Time show on HBO, Maher told Elden to “stop being such a f**king baby.”
Back in August, Elden sued surviving Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, the estate of Kurt Cobain, and other parties for sexual exploitation, alleging the underwater photo of him as a four-month-old on the iconic album cover amounted to child pornography. He is seeking at least $150,000 in damages from each of the defendants, who also include Courtney Love, Universal Music Group, photographer Kirk Weddle, and drummer Chad Channing (who barely appears on Nevermind after being replaced by Grohl). Moreover, he is requesting the image be removed or altered on all future releases of Nevermind, including the upcoming 30th anniversary deluxe edition, due November 12th.
During his “New Rule” segment on Real Time, Maher began, “The words ‘victim’ and ‘survivor’ have traveled a long way from their original usage. The baby from the Nirvana album says he’s a victim. He’s suing Nirvana for lifelong damages.”
He continued, “I never thought I’d have to say this to a baby, but stop being such a f**king baby. You’re not a victim. There’s no reason you can’t have a normal, happy life just because people look at you and think, ‘baby penis.’ It didn’t hurt Trump.”
Maher’s views echo those of some legal experts who have called the lawsuit “frivolous.” Attorney Jamie White, who has represented clients victimized by priests, Boy Scout leaders, and former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, stated, “I would look for a court to dismiss because it’s frivolous and it really is offensive to what we have all been doing in trying to protect children from the harm they are alleging here.”
Grohl recently addressed the lawsuit, saying of Elden, “Listen, he’s got a Nevermind tattoo. I don’t.” Previously, the Foo Fighters frontman said, “I have many ideas of how we should alter that cover but we’ll see what happens. We’ll let you know. I’m sure we’ll come up with something good.”
Watch Bill Maher speak on Spencer Elden’s lawsuit at the 3:43 mark of the clip below, followed by Heavy Consequence‘s recent exclusive video clips of Billy Idol, Corey Taylor, and Dee Snider talking about the impact of Nirvana’s Nevermind.
