Editor’s Note: Whether on screen or off, Hollywood can always be counted on to keep us entertained. This is especially true when it comes to politics. Join us each week as we shine the spotlight on Tinseltown’s A-listers and their whacky and sometimes inspiring takes on today’s current events.
Tinseltown Reacts to Texas Abortion Ban
This week, Texas’ law banning abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected went into effect and Hollywoke is none too pleased. Many have compared the new law to Hulu’s television series The Handmaid’s Tale. Investigative Journalist Lisa Guerrero tweeted out “Hope red’s your color, ladies,” a jab in reference to the red robes women are forced to wear in the show.
Hilarie Burton
(Photo by Jim Spellman/Getty Images)
Actress Hilarie Burton (Grey’s Anatomy, Lethal Weapon) warned women the law would be coming for them. “This Texas deal,” she tweeted. “They’re coming for you if you have a miscarriage. All it takes is a neighbor ‘reporting’ you. Think of every woman you know who has miscarried. She will now be considered a suspect.”
Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) had to throw in her opinion on social media, posting: “I’m thinking about the Black, brown, low-income, queer, and young folks in Texas. The folks this abortion health care ban will disproportionately harm. Wealthy white folks will have the means to access abortion care. Our communities won’t.”
And finally, Alyssa Milano tweeted: “The newest Texas abortion ban, #SB8, gives politicians, neighbors, and even strangers the right to sue those who provide – or just help patients get – abortion after 6 wks. The time to fight for our reproductive health & rights is now!”
“Nevermind” Cover’s Baby Grown up, and Ready to Sue
Remember the cover picture from Nirvana’s album Nevermind, which featured a naked baby swimming and chasing a dollar bill suspended from a fishing hook? Well, that baby – Spencer Elden – is all grown up and has filed a lawsuit.
Elden, 30, alleges the cover is “sexual exploitation” that will follow him for the rest of his life. The suit suggests that everyone involved benefited from “the sex-trafficking venture and Spencer’s exploitation.” Defendants named in the lawsuit include Nirvana LLC, the estate of Kurt Cobain, the album designer, the photographer, and the record label. Elden is represented by Robert Y. Lewis of New York. The suit states:
“[They] used child pornography depicting Spencer … in a sexually provocative manner to gain notoriety, drive sales, and garner media attention.”
According to plaintiff, his legal guardians never signed a release authorizing the band to use his image, and he has never received a penny in compensation for an album that was ranked No. 7 on the Billboard’s list of “The 50 Greatest Album Covers of All Time” last year.
According to reports, several babies were invited to a swim party while the photographer took pictures until the band decided on Elden’s. “Cobain chose the image depicting Spencer – like a sex worker – grabbing for a dollar bill that is positioned dangling from a fishhook in front of his nude body,” the lawsuit claims.
Elden, who has “Nevermind” tattooed across his chest, at first didn’t mind the fame and popularity. In 2008, he told NPR: “Quite a few people in the world have seen my penis. So that’s [kind of] cool. I’m just a normal kid living it up and doing the best I can while I’m here.”
But Elden’s attitude has changed. Although he admitted to people thinking it was “cool” that he was the Nirvana baby, Elden claimed women he dated would break things off when they realized he wasn’t getting any compensation. In 2016, he told Time, “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.”
Elden is asking for at least $150,000 from each of the 15 defendants named in the lawsuit as well as legal fees and other unspecified damages. In a GQ article, he complained: “I’ve been going through it my whole life. But recently I’ve been thinking, ‘What if I wasn’t OK with my freaking penis being shown to everybody?’ I didn’t really have a choice.”
Currently, Elden is an artist and has done a few art shows. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to do a piece of work better than that in my entire life,” he told GQ. “But I’m just trying to get it out of my head – this image of a baby chasing a dollar – and not worry about making millions of dollars.”
Cheers And Jeers
Sometimes, HollyWeird players make headlines for silly or bizarre happenings, so here is a collection of newsworthy doings — honorable and dishonorable — by the tenants of Tinseltown.
From Presidential Candidate to Working With Accused Sex Offender
Kanye West, rapper and former presidential candidate, will be collaborating with rock star Marilyn Manson, who is also in the midst of legal battles after being accused of sexual misconduct. Manson, 52, currently has four sexual assault cases against him, including charges of human trafficking and unlawful imprisonment. His voice is featured on DONDA, West’s new album. Fans are not happy.
DaBaby, Kanye West and Marilyn Manson perform during the Kanye West Donda event on August 26, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brian Prahl/MEGA/GC Images)
On Twitter, one commenter wrote: “This isn’t the news I wanted today. What is Kanye doing? This is just a bad look.”
Currently, 15 women have lodged complaints against Manson, including Evan Rachel Wood (Westwood) and Esmé Bianco (Game of Thrones). In an interview with People, another Game of Thrones actress and Manson’s ex-girlfriend, Ashley Smithline, said he “bit her, whipped her, cut her with a swastika-emblazoned knife and shoved his fist in her mouth during sex.” The actress claimed she was forced to do a blood pact with the rocker and was locked in a soundproof glass room referred to as “the bad girls’ room.”
An outraged fan asked: “Why would he even allow that on an album with his mom’s name as the title?” Another simply wrote: “Sick!”
Tune in next week to see what else Tinseltown has planned.
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Read more from Kelli Ballard.
