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Bryan Sullivan recently provided insight to The Hollywood Reporter and Forbes on the newly filed lawsuit against Nirvana over the cover of its 1991 album “Nevermind.” The lawsuit, filed by the man who appeared as an infant on the iconic album cover, alleges that the image violates federal child pornography statutes and amounts to exploitation material. In his article for Forbes entitled “Nirvana Suit Is Baseless, Frivolous, And An Insult To Victims Of Heinous Crimes,” Bryan analyzes the legal and factual frivolousness of the plaintiff’s claims and points to the photo’s failure to meet the U.S. Supreme Court’s three-prong test for obscenity. When asked for insight by THR, Bryan also explained that even in the remote possibility that the plaintiff’s parents did not sign a release authorizing the use of their son’s image, the lawsuit was still filed on shaky grounds.

“I think it is highly unlikely that a record company would use a photograph for an album cover without verifying the existence of a release signed by the parents,” Bryan told THR. “But, if there is no release, it does not mean he has a claim for child pornography. As to the right of privacy, you can waive it by your actions or by his parents’ actions in allowing him to be photographed.”

Bryan’s comments to THR and his piece in Forbes can be found below.

The Hollywood Reporter

Forbes