Dave Grohl has reacted to the recent lawsuit brought against Nirvana by Spencer Elden, who was photographed as the baby on the cover of the band’s iconic 1991 album, Nevermind. In a new interview, the onetime Nirvana drummer and current Foo Fighters frontman said he has “many ideas of how we should alter that cover.”
Elden is suing multiple defendants — including Grohl, Krist Novoselic, the estate of Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, Universal Music Group, and more — alleging 30 years later that the naked underwater image of him as a 4-month-old baby was child pornography and that using it as the album cover was child sexual exploitation. In addition to seeking monetary compensation, Elden is requesting that the cover artwork be changed for all future releases of Nevermind, including the recently announced deluxe 30th anniversary reissue set for a November 12th release.
Some legal experts have called the lawsuit “frivolous,” with one lawyer saying it undermines other child exploitation lawsuits. “It really is offensive to what we have all been doing in trying to protect children from the harm they are alleging here,” said lawyer Jamie White, who has represented clients victimized by priests, Boy Scout leaders, and former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.
The Sunday Times just caught up with Grohl and asked him about the lawsuit. Surprisingly, he didn’t dismiss the question, answering, “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.”
It’s tough to tell how sincere Grohl is being, but if anything, it does indicate that it is something that has been weighing on his mind. However, he ultimately said that he has people who deal with the legal aspects. “I think that there’s much more to look forward to and much more to life than getting bogged down in those kinds of things. And, fortunately, I don’t have to do the paperwork.”
The game-changing Nevermind celebrated its 30th anniversary on September 24th. To mark the occasion, Consequence spoke with such artists as Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider, and the band Portugal. The Man about the impact the album had on them and the music industry. Watch their testimonials in the videos below.
Grohl, meanwhile, is releasing his new book, The Storyteller, on Tuesday (October 5th), with pre-orders available via Amazon.
