Six Former Cradle of Filth members file lawsuit against Dani Filth
Metal band Cradle of Filth is facing fresh turmoil after frontman Dani Filth is being sued by a group of former members.
In August, Zoë M Federoff, the keyboardist and backing singer of the veteran metal outfit left the band. A day later, her husband, Marek ‘Ashok’ Smerda, announced his plans to leave the band following the conclusion of their South American tour.
He released a statement about his decision, sharing, “We simply do not feel like Cradle can provide for our future, and in fact hinders it. […] It has been years of unprofessional behavior from people above us that led to our decision.”
In response, Filth relieved him of his duties with immediate effect. He shared at the end of April, “Despite all attempts to illegally defame and derail the band, Cradle Of Filth WILL NOT cancel any of our South American shows.”
He then said that “the rest of the band are cool, even if taken aback, and accusations toward management”. The frontman labelled these accusations as “unjust and unfounded”.
Now, legal papers have been filed in Arizona that reveal that six plaintiffs are suing Dani Filth (aka Daniel Lloyd Davey), Cradle Of Filth Touring Limited, Cradle Of Filth LLP, and The Oracle Management.
Federoff and Smerda have joined forces with Paul Allender, who played guitar with the band twice, from 1992 to 1995 and 1999 to 2014, as well as Richard Shaw, who played guitar between 2014 and 2022.
Also named as a plaintiff is Lindsay Matheson, who played keyboard in the band from 2013 to 2020, and Sasha Baxter (also known as Sasha Massacre), who appeared in music videos for the songs ‘To Live Deliciously’ and ‘Malignant Perfection’.
As per Louder Sound, the complaints include alleged copyright infringement, misappropriation of the plaintiffs’ likenesses in merchandise, defamation, unpaid royalties for live shows and recordings, unauthorised use of copyright and more.
Dani Filth is yet to comment on the matter.
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