{"id":384956,"date":"2025-08-30T11:03:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T11:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/384956\/"},"modified":"2025-08-30T11:03:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T11:03:09","slug":"cradle-of-filths-dani-filth-shares-his-side-of-the-story-as-members-quit-over-unprofessional-behaviour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/384956\/","title":{"rendered":"Cradle of Filth’s Dani Filth shares his “side of the story” as members quit over \u201cunprofessional behaviour”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cradle Of Filth<\/a>\u2018s Dani Filth has shared his \u201cside of the story\u201d after the departure of multiple band members.<\/p>\n

Last weekend, spouses and bandmembers Zoe\u0308 Marie Federoff and Marek \u201cAshok\u201d \u0160merda quit Cradle Of Filth, citing \u201clow pay\u201d, \u201cstress\u201d and \u201cunprofessional behaviour\u201d<\/a>, including management withholding proper compensation and Filth\u2019s \u201cfoolish\u201d decision to collaborate with Ed Sheeran<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Federoff later shared a further statement on the situation on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>, which alleged that the couple \u201cmake [\u00a3]150\/day currently and [\u00a3]25K a year roughly in this band, to clarify the math\u201d.<\/p>\n

Federoff went on say: \u201cWe planned this transition out of Cradle of Filth months ago. Management is dishonest, manipulative, and tries to take money that belongs to us with no contract between us session musicians and him.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also made an allegation that unnamed \u201cmanagement\u201d had attempted to \u201csteal\u201d album advance money from their 2025 record,\u00a0\u2018The Screaming Of The Valkyries\u2019<\/a>, and that she had been threatened with dismissal.<\/p>\n

\n

Please read the statement from Marek Ashok Smerda too.This is our final account of what\u2019s happened and why.*edit* We make 150\/day currently and 25K a year roughly in this band, to clarify the math.<\/p>\n

Posted by Zoe Marie Federoff<\/a> on\u00a0Tuesday, August 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Now, Filth has issued a statement on the situation in an eight-slide Instagram post, which included screenshots of a text exchange between Ashok and the band\u2019s manager Dez Fafara.<\/p>\n

In the statement, Filth says the contracts his band members signed were supposed to be rough drafts and starting points and that he never expected anyone to actually sign them.<\/p>\n

He says the contracts were signed in a rush so that the tour could get off the ground, which was a \u201cmistake\u201d, and that he will work to make sure the language is better in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course Zoe would show you the worst and it saddens me that the context of what I thought was our dialogue was warped to fit an agenda and made public,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cZoe and Ashok had already tendered their resignations despite me agreeing to a pay-rise amid additional financial protection, so I was in absolutely no hurry to waste money with our lawyer drafting up a contract that was already destined to be pulled apart anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Filth says the South American tour that led to Federoff and Ashok\u2019s departure involved drunken fights between the couple, including an alleged incident in front of fans who\u2019d gathered for a meet-and-greet. Filth alleges that this was \u201ca pattern of abusive behavior that strained the entire team\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Zoe\u2018s defence, I do account her outburst on the fact that we had barely eleven hours sleep in four days, but again I don\u2019t think this is a worthy excuse,\u201d he continued. \u201cNo one else behaved in this manner. We were too tired to for a start!\u201d<\/p>\n

The post ends with screenshots of Ashok calling Fafara a \u201csick evil person trained by sickest person in music industry \u2013 Sharon Osbourne \u2013 the criminal who should be whipped to death.\u201d In response, Fafara says he has been supportive during Ashok and Federoff\u2019s past crises and that he and Filth have been trying to find money to pay them.<\/p>\n

\n<\/blockquote>\n

Federoff has since reacted to the statement on Facebook, writing: \u201cIt\u2019s an untrue statement from multiple angles and our lawyer\u2019s response is coming. That\u2019s all for now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

It\u2019s an untrue statement from multiple angles and our lawyer\u2019s response is coming. That\u2019s all for now.<\/p>\n

Posted by Zoe Marie Federoff<\/a> on\u00a0Friday, August 29, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Kelsey Peters will be taking over on backing vocals and keyboard duties for the remainder of the tour. In his statement, Filth told fans that \u201cAshok\u2019s temporary replacement is [being] flown out to join the tour in a few days\u201d.<\/p>\n

He promised that the group \u201cWILL NOT cancel any of our South American shows\u201d, but asked his followers to \u201cbear with us\u201d as they continue \u201cwith only one guitarist live\u201d in the meantime.<\/p>\n

Filth revealed that\u00a0Cradle Of Filth\u2019s team-up with Sheeran was \u201cdone and dusted\u201d<\/a>\u00a0at the start of this year, but later\u00a0confirmed that it would not appear on \u2018The Screaming Of The Valkyries\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Earlier this summer,\u00a0Dani Filth proposed to his long-term girlfriend Sofiya Belousova during Cradle Of Filth\u2019s performance at Download Festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n