‘I Wish I Could See a Man When I Look at You’ - Fired Cradle of Filth Guitarist Hits Back at Dani Filth’s Latest Accusations

The Cradle of Filth drama continued over the weekend as former guitarist Marek "Ashok" Smerda has issued a response to singer Dani Filth's lengthy account of the divide that led to Ashok and wife-keyboardist Zoe Marie Federoff's exits from the band.

To recap, Federoff abruptly left Cradle of Filth's South American tour mid-run. Initial statements between both sides were cordial. But Federoff let it be known that both she and her husband had intended to leave the band at the end of the tour.

Smerda soon followed with a statement sharing his intent to complete the run but revealing behind the scenes issues over contractual matters and issues with management. The couple then issued a joint statement offering more specific instances of their issues and shared the contract they were asked to sign with the public.

That led to Smerda's immediate firing from the band as Cradle of Filth intended to complete their current run with a replacement en route.

But over the weekend, Filth shared a lengthy missive with his side of the story in which he disputes the nature of the contract intent, defends their management and paints Federoff as a bad fit for the band who is now attempting to slander himself and their management to garner dislike amongst the fanbase.

After Filth's comments went public, Smerda fired back with a response through his Instagram disputing some of the singer's claims.

How Did Ashok Smerda Respond to Dani Filth's Accusations?

In his posting, Smerda takes exception to Filth using his mother's ailing health and the tragedy of his and Zoe's miscarriage to garner sympathy. He also lays the blame on Filth for everything now playing out in public after he claims the singer chose to ignore issues raised about the contractual and management issues that he and others were bringing up.

He concludes that he does not regret speaking up and adds that he and Zoe's ultimate goal was for better treatment of those who continue to serve in the band. His full statement can be viewed below:

To Dan After Last Post,
And I believe this will be the end of public statements from my side and my wife's as long as it is end from his side. I know this is grating everyone ... me too, but private convos did not sort anything for months. Understand it was a last resort to go public.
I am usually [the] most silent person even when I am hurt, which is probably why it took 12 years to properly say all of this.
Here are my hands. The hands I used to serve you for 12 years. To write and play music for you. I gave you these hands.
Your mom is always [a] great person to me and I wish her healing. Her heart is huge as far as I ever knew. However it feels low to me to use her right now as [an] excuse when we all know she's been sick since last year. Everyone has been there for you and supportive Dan. We all give so much love and support to her as soon as you tell us.
I lost my own mother to [a] sudden medical tragedy and I never even said goodbye to her — there was o time. She never saw me onstage with Cradle. She haunts me every day. But her memory tells me to be [a] better man and treat others better. I would never use her as [an] excuse for hurting others.
But if you respect mothers, then why twist our tragedy of miscarriage into something that was not true of my wife — she never drank while pregnant. However her doctor told her the lack of sleep, irregular schedule, constant pressure of management threatening her job if she did anything they didn't like ... all of this more than likely contributed to her body rejecting pregnancy. She exhibits high signs of the stress she is under.
It is true we cannot blame it all on you, but for you to assume she was drinking with pregnancy was low, because we all know there is very little that is worse to accuse [a] woman of than killing her own child.
I saw many times [the] rest of the band would protest or argue with you and management but only Zoe was singled out to be mocked and punished. Even now your 'fans' call her crazy but I can guarantee every man in the band has said [the] same things she is saying. I am saying it too. There was never the same respect for my wife there was for [the] opinions of the men.
You once had my respect and full loyalty, respect you lost [a] while ago and loyalty you threw away not long ago. Even when I stopped respecting you, when it was obvious you did not care about us, I stayed loyal. Until... you respond to [a] heartfelt plea to give us [a] better chance for living with that sordid contract, which every session member knows you sent with instructions to sign as soon as possible. No one has a shitty contract just lying around to be sent by mistake.
To not take ownership even now for the many ways in which you screw us all, it is not surprising, but it is still sad Dan ... cause again, even after years of being treated disposable I wrote my heart and soul into albums for you ... because I love music and I love the joy of the fans. it is sad that you could not take responsibility for these issues in private and now they are public, so we are all caught in a giant storm. This is on you for not allowing anything to be handled privately. Just ignore, ignore, ignore everything we tried to tell you for [a] long time.
I wish I could see a man when I look at you, Dan, but I don't. I see excuses.
In time all will come to light as I do not believe we will be [the] last to say something — although it is now obvious why 40 other ex members never did say much. It has been hell for us to speak up. But I do not regret it.
Treat my brothers still in the band better, if there is any honor left in you. They are damn good people and will always have my love and support. That is [the] entire goal we have.

What Did Dani Filth Say About the Drama With Ashok Smerda and Zoe Marie Federoff?

With the dispute now becoming public, Dani Filth issued a lengthy response through the Cradle of Filth Instagram over the weekend about the issues raised by Ashok Smerda and Zoe Marie Federoff upon their exits from the group.

In it, Filth shares that the contract in question was never meant to be signed as is, noting that it was a framework from which to work from. He adds that part of the issue that has led to the grievance was due to miscommunication among those receiving the contract and what was expected from them in return.

He also calls out Federoff for "picking facts to fit an agenda" that did not paint a full picture of what was going on behind the scenes on the tour. In turn, he shared instances of Federoff's behavior and what he and others witnessed on tour.

The singer also shares his appreciation for management and reveals that talks are continuing with current band members to draw up a contract that works for everyone and aids their business.

His full posting can be viewed below.

Greetings everyone,
I think it’s time to reveal my side of the story, now that so many accusations have been leveled at the band, our management, and me personally. I apologize for the slight tardiness of this statement; it was important to approach this in a level-headed manner after reflection. The timing was also difficult, as the band is currently touring South America with arduous travel days, long flights, and shows.
I don’t believe in tit-for-tat or slander, but I do want to clarify the following points:
1. Firstly the contract in question:
This is not a contract that was ever expected to be signed as is, but was the initial framework to build from. I will expand on this further, but I do see that one of the main reasons we are having this situation is because of miscommunication regarding the nature of the contract and what was expected of the parties receiving it.
2. No one in the band is prohibited from working with other groups and substituting their income. We currently schedule tours for about 40 percent of the year with the rest of the year being available for other commitments. Many of my bandmates have other projects, as can be seen on their own social media pages. WE DO NOT prohibit our musicians from work commitments with other bands, we only ask to plan sufficiently, weaving schedules together as far in advance as the situation allows.
3. I’m sad to see that Zoe is picking facts to fit an agenda but am willing to share the full story including the description of events of the first three days of the South American tour, to show a more balanced picture so that people can make their judgements based on the wider context.
During those first days, heavy drinking, escalating arguments and repeated public disputes created a very disruptive atmosphere for everyone involved. I personally witnessed heated exchanges between Zoe and Ashok that included both verbal and physical abuse, culminating in a public display in front of the hotel and fans who had gathered for last minute autographs in Sao Paolo. This was not an isolated incident but part of a pattern of abusive behavior that strained the entire team.
While I understand touring is stressful and exhausting, I cannot excuse the effect it had on the rest of us. The decision to continue the tour without them was not taken lightly, but it was necessary for the health of the band and crew.
Also, no one knew anything about her pregnancy and if she was pregnant, why she was drinking at all? She even contacted management on several occasions asking for help in stopping drinking, with lengthy text messages proving this.
4. It is important to me that the artists around me feel like their inputs are seen and valued. I do think that for the most part this is the case, as some of the remaining members have been with me for over 10 years. We are however always looking to improve, so I will take what is happening now as an opportunity to have a better dialogue in the band, crafting a more elaborate contract that makes everyone feel comfortable and protected in the future.
5. Addressing the management:
Dez and Anahstasia of The Oracle Management have been nothing short of wonderful. Caring and understanding, relinquishing commissions to make tours work and working closely with the band to deliver us some amazing opportunities, thinking above and outside the proverbial box.
Having failed to fit in the band, Zoe is now attempting to slander and lie about as much as possible to garner dislike for me and our management. Isn’t it easy to accuse without proof in this day and age when everybody is a such a well-versed online critic? I can only begin to imagine what else I will be accused of as she seeks to destroy this band and business.
Dez is very honest, transparent and truthful and doesn’t get paid until I allow the accountant to pay him.
This means everything goes through my accountant and then said accountant sifts through all the financial numbers to see what can and cannot be afforded. Dez never handles any of the moneys coming in.
Dez called out for Zoe’s firing, to which Ashok spoke out for her and went after the Royal family of heavy metal and we won’t have anybody speaking about Ozzy’s wife like this.
Now to elaborate further as promised.
Firstly the contract in question.
Yes it was a shitty contract, but one that was put forward to help further dialogue with two members that had been causing a lot of drama behind-the-scenes. Started from a harmless and well-reasoned email from Zoe asking for a pay-rise for the band, which was approved within days without any pushback, Zoe’s communication continued to get ruder and to escalate to a more threatening depth for seemingly no reason, especially considering her original request was approved from the get-go.
The tensions were growing and at the point of sending that contract, we had already received resignations from both Ashok and Zoe, so we decided not to spend any budget on a tailored contract, which in retrospect was a mistake as it further escalated the situation. Unfortunately we sent out an old, but never before used contract that was too brash, not as elaborate as it deserves to be and one that doesn’t capture the full picture of the actuality of being in this band. It wasn’t done with malicious intent, but was intended as a start to negotiations with none of us realizing that it has been sitting in a folder, but not used for a reason. I rashly forwarded asking the band to sign.
At the time of sending it, we all (management, myself and our attorney) had barely any time to look at the contract that was going out giving it a surface glance and just got it out to the band. I hadn’t had a full conversation with the lawyer or Dez about what the contract's initial intention was (negotiate or just sign and go). This was an oversight on my part and it has been clarified later.
Of 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.
I am talking internally with the rest of the band now to draw up a contract that will best serve all of them and the business.
And yes, unfortunately a band is a business and when we witness a person stirring trouble, drinking heavily, not writing, threatening to sue the band over use of their image, then something obviously needed to be done.
Zoe 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.
To say that they only earn ‘X’ amount a year will certainly raise a few eyebrows, however, aside from their wages they are also privy to publishing (they just received an advance, who the management gave up commissions on and I actually put money towards out of my share), publishing royalties, PRS or the equivalent in every country, bonuses for touring if we do well, endorsements and not to mention food everyday and bunks/double room hotels when available on the road.
On Zoe’s departure three days into the twenty-six date tour and having already promised me and management that they would see out the tour in a professional manner, Zoe and Ashok proceeded to drink and argue between themselves for the first three days.
Having already argued all afternoon in front of everyone backstage, Ashok wanted to stay back and have a few drinks after the show, arguing with Zoe to the contrary. Later, he was with fans and members of our crew, when Zoe stormed downstairs at the hotel to drag him back to the room, telling people to ‘f—k off’ along the way and causing a scene. There are many witnesses to this, including that of her throwing things at him.
In Zoe's defense, I do account her outburst on the fact that we had barely eleven hours sleep in four days, but again I don’t think this is a worthy excuse. No one else behaved in this manner. We were too tired to for a start!
The next morning, which was a very early lobby call, Ashok was clearly still drunk and again, the two of them argued heavily at the airport resulting in Zoe deciding to leave the tour and book a flight back to Arizona, citing Ashok’s alcoholism and partying by text. Ashok remained as a courtesy to the band, and as testified by several people, stipulated that his marriage was not working out. That, however is none of my business.
What is my business however is keeping the tour moving and with this run costing nearly $200,000 in just expenses and wages alone, the thought of flying out new people and booking them visas, hotels and flights was obviously a little overwhelming. I quite selfishly thought that without the constant drama that we witnessed on a daily basis, Ashok would concede to enjoying the rest of the tour with us.
However that was not to be the case, as one minute he was crying on people’s shoulders, the next morning pushing out a statement about his departure from the band amid other revelations, having spoken to his wife on the phone. Naturally, due to these fresh insights he was fired on the spot.
Which brings me to ‘fat shaming’.
Never has this been undertaken.
Dez never said anything about persons being fat or being too heavy. All he said to Anabelle (our previous keyboardist) is ‘please watch your health you have touring and videos coming up’, to which she sent a picture of herself eating a selection of buns (which I found funny at the time!).
Of course any manager would express these sentiments.
Dez never spoke to Sarah Jezebel Deva about anything within the band. She was not in the band, however he did speak to her when she went online speaking ill of me and that’s exactly what a good manager does.
I expect my manager to have the artist’s back at all times.
*Incidentally Sarah actually emailed me to say how nice it was to meet me at the show in Torquay a few weeks ago and to ask if I’d still be interested in covering an Eighties pop song we both loved.
Touring itself is a very expensive business now, but that’s something you can read about anywhere online.
I, as many of my colleagues in the music industry, have been pretty much an alcoholic by definition at one or two stages in my career and this is why I can observe her erratic patterns of behaviour and it is also why I have been teetotal from the booze for nigh on three year now.
Anyhoo I could prattle on forever, I just wanted to clear up a few things and then be out of your hair.
Thank you to all the many bands, fans and fellow musicians who have proffered their support in this matter. You guys are much appreciated indeed!
Onward and upward as they say!
See you on the road!

Cradle of Filth in 2025

Cradle of Filth remain in the midst of a South American tour that transitions to Mexico in mid-September. There are dates this week in Bogota, Panama, Zapote, Santa Tecla and Guatemala. The current run concludes Sept. 28 in Mexico City.

From there, Cradle of Filth will get a bit of a break before resuming touring on Nov. 17 in Zurich, Switzerland, which is the start of a European tour run. That trek wraps on Dec. 2 in Oslo, Norway, concluding their 2025 touring.

All remaining dates and ticketing information can be found through the Cradle of Filth website.