In a shocking and deeply personal statement, former Cradle of Filth keyboardist Zoë Marie Federoff has detailed the “toxic and threatening” environment that led to her and her husband, guitarist Marek “Ashok” Šmerda, leaving the legendary extreme metal band. In a heartbreaking exposé posted Tuesday, Federoff alleged a culture of financial exploitation and verbal abuse, culminating in the tragic revelation that the immense stress contributed to her miscarrying her first pregnancy while on tour.
Federoff, who abruptly left the band mid-tour on August 24, began her statement with a stark warning to any musicians who might replace them: “READ THE CONTRACT.” She went on to describe a planned departure that was months in the making.
The most devastating part of her statement detailed the immense personal cost of her time in the band. “The toll this was all taking on our lives and our marriage grew too great,” she wrote. “The health toll it took on us also led me to miscarry our first pregnancy on tour. We chose to leave to save ourselves and create a better future for our family.”
Federoff leveled serious allegations against the band’s management, claiming they are “dishonest, manipulative, and tries to take money that belongs to us with no contract.” She alleges that when she confronted them over an “attempted theft of album advance money,” they called her “cancer” and a “dead horse” and threatened to fire her.
She placed the ultimate responsibility squarely on the band’s iconic frontman, Dani Filth. “The frontman does nothing to stop them and hides behind them while they belittle and steal,” she alleged. “We hold the frontman responsible for hiring this management and never advocating for his team, only himself… He might not get his hands dirty, but in the end, he directs them.” She described being kept in “poverty for the ego of one person” on “very low wages” while being denied the opportunity to supplement their income with other bands.
Her husband, guitarist Marek “Ashok” Šmerda, who will finish the band’s current South American tour before officially departing, corroborated her claims in his own statement. “We simply do not feel like Cradle can provide for our future, and in fact hinders it,” he wrote, citing “a lot of work for relatively low pay, the stress is quite high,” and “years of unprofessional behavior from people above us.” In a definitive move, Ashok also confirmed he has requested all of his compositions be removed from upcoming Cradle of Filth releases, including the highly anticipated collaboration with Ed Sheeran.
Zoë Marie Federoff‘s damning statement, which also references a contract their lawyer called “the most psychopathic” imaginable, concludes with a final, pointed question aimed at the band’s leader: “And remember- we all know the guy who says “All” his exes are crazy- are you sure ALL of them? Or could the problem be you, 40+ people later?” The explosive revelations have cast a dark cloud over the future of one of metal’s most enduring institutions.
You can read the contract in her Facebook Post. Zoë Marie Federoff full statement is as follows:
“A further statement on the departure of myself and Ashok from Cradle of Filth and a warning to our successors- READ THE CONTRACT.
We 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. When I called them out on this attempted theft of album advance money from Screaming of the Valkyries, they called me “cancer” and “dead horse” and threatened to fire me. The frontman does nothing to stop them and hides behind them while they belittle and steal. We hold the frontman responsible for hiring this management and never advocating for his team, only himself. Other ex members try to tiptoe around this and only blame management management works for the frontman.
He might not get his hands dirty, but in the end, he directs them. The atmosphere he creates is threatening and abusive and constantly exploits us for very low wages yet also demands exclusivity to Cradle‘s schedule. We do not make even the bare cost of living, yet we are told not to tour with other bands to supplement income. It is madness to keep people locked in poverty for the ego of one person.
We attach the contract they attempted to trap all session members in for a 25% raise (The first raise in 7 years.) Our lawyer called it the most psychopathic contract a session musician could ever be handed. We did not sign and made a decision to leave this year instead.
So we left because we were being used and paid less than the cost of living, the environment is toxic and threatening, …and the toll this was all taking on our lives and our marriage grew too great. The health toll it took on us also led me to miscarry our first pregnancy on tour. We chose to leave to save ourselves and create a better future for our family. Now that we are out- the sun is shining, our family has hope, and we hope every session musician who thinks about joining Cradle reads this contract and talks to a lawyer.
Good luck to whoever tries to make it work next. And remember- we all know the guy who says “All” his exes are crazy- are you sure ALL of them? Or could the problem be you, 40+ people later?
Farewell to the fans and our fellow session members and crew. They were the only part of this that remain good memories.”
