Former Cradle of Filth keyboardist Zoë Marie Federoff and guitarist Marek “Ashok” Šmerda have issued a new, scathing joint statement directly refuting claims made by frontman Dani Filth in the ongoing public feud. Their statement, which followed Dani‘s lengthy public response to their initial accusations, insists that all of their claims of financial misconduct and exploitation are “true and provable.”
The conflict began on August 24 with Federoff‘s abrupt departure mid-tour, citing “personal reasons.” Her husband, Ashok, soon followed with his own statement detailing his departure from the band at the end of the tour due to “low pay,” “high stress,” and “years of unprofessional behavior” from those in charge. In a dramatic escalation, Dani Filth then announced that Ashok had been fired, accusing the couple of making false and “defamatory” statements.
In their latest statement, Federoff and Ashok directly address and reject Dani‘s version of events. They doubled down on their accusations against the band’s management, led by Bradley “Dez” Fafara, calling them manipulative and dishonest. The duo also dismissed Dani‘s attempts to deflect from the core issues by bringing up trivial matters like marital disputes. They specifically called out his public statements about personal issues and his attempt to involve Sharon Osbourne, stating they have a recording of Dani relaying Fafara‘s alleged opinions of her and asking for the Osbournes to not be involved during their time of grief.
The musicians framed their decision to go public as a protest against the exploitation of artists within the music industry, urging fans to focus on the rights of musicians rather than being distracted by the ongoing back-and-forth accusations. The statement concluded with a promise to pursue their claims through legal channels. The escalating drama has divided the band’s fanbase, leaving many to wonder about the future of Cradle of Filth and the veracity of the claims from both sides.
The full statement is as follows:
“Given recent events, we’d like to issue a further statement.
The definition of “defamation” is making *untrue* statements with the intent to cause harm. Unlike the statement of Daniel Davey, Every statement we have made thus far is true and provable. Cradle of Filth and their management Bradley “Dez” Fafara steal from and exploit musicians, and we will continue demonstrating this via the legal route.
For our former frontman to try and use trivial matters like supposed marital spats is laughable, but the rest of the accusations, including alcoholism and drinking while pregnant, are quite serious. Additionally to take a comment out of context about Sharon Osbourne is quite serious, especially given that during the same day, we have an audio recording of Davey relaying Fafara’s alleged opinions of her. We do not wish to involve the Osbourne family in this matter, especially in their time of grief, and we advise Davey and Fafara to end this here. We wish the Osbourne family well.
We are going public to protest the theft and exploitation we and others have suffered at the hands of Daniel Davey and Bradley “Dez” Fafara. That is the core of the issue here, and we ask you not to be distracted by the rambling and instead raise awareness for the rights of musicians.
That is all for now, and we thank you for your support.”
