Six former members of metal band Cradle Of Filth have filed a lawsuit against the group’s frontman Dani Filth.
In August, keyboardist Zoe Marie Federoff and her husband, guitarist Marek ‘Ashok’ Šmerda, announced they were leaving the band, later citing “low pay” and “stress” as among the reasons for their departures.
Šmerda wrote at the time that he and Federoff felt the band could not “provide for our future”, adding: “Among other reasons it is a lot of work for relatively low pay, the stress is quite high, and we haven’t felt for a while like this band actually prioritising/caring about members. It has been years of unprofessional behaviour from people above us that led to our decision.”
The guitarist also cited the band’s collaboration with Ed Sheeran in his decision, saying the it felt like “foolish clown antics”.
Now, it has emerged that Federoff and Šmerda are among those to have filed legal papers in Arizona against the band and Dani Filth – real name Daniel Lloyd Davey. Paul Allender, who played guitar from 1992 to 1995 and 1999 to 2014, and Richard Shaw, guitarist from 2014 to 2022, are also named as plaintiffs, as is Lindsay Matheson, keyboardist from 2013 to 2020, and Sasha Baxter, who appeared in some of the band’s videos.
The complaints in the suit include alleged copyright infringement, misappropriation of the plaintiffs’ likenesses in merchandise, defamation, unpaid royalties for live shows and recordings and unauthorised use of copyright.
Dani Filth has yet to respond to the suit.
After Federoff and Šmerda left the band, the frontman shared his “side of the story”, posting screenshots of a text exchange between Šmerda and the band’s manager Dez Fafara. Filth claimed the contracts the band members signed were supposed to be rough drafts and they were signed in a rush so that the tour could get off the ground, which he said was a “mistake”.
Filth also said the South American tour that led to Federoff and Šmerda’s departure involved drunken fights between the couple, including an alleged incident in front of fans who’d gathered for a meet-and-greet. Filth alleges that this was “a pattern of abusive behavior that strained the entire team”.
He also shared “one final statement” on the matter in September, wishing Šmerda and Federoff well, but refuting their allegations of “theft” and “exploitation”.
“To Zoe and Ashok: despite everything, I do wish you well. We shared great times together, and I’ll always be grateful for those memories. But I won’t let unfounded slander define this band or diminish the work we’ve put into it.”
He concluded the post by saying the focus remained on delivering shows “with the passion our fans deserve, and on building a stronger, clearer foundation for all our musicians moving forward”.
