Cradle of Filth’s ongoing South American tour has taken another dramatic turn, as the band has announced the immediate dismissal of guitarist Marek “Ashok” Šmerda. This came just hours after Ashok wrote on his Facebook page that he would be leaving Cradle of Filth at the end of the current tour.
In a statement issued by frontman Dani Filth, the band confirmed Ashok’s firing “with a grave heart,” effective immediately. While the details behind the decision remain unclear, Dani Filth stressed that the move was necessary and urged fans to “avoid speculation as more clarity on the situation will be provided.”
“Despite all attempts to illegally defame and derail the band, Cradle Of Filth WILL NOT cancel any of our South American shows,” the statement read. For now, the group will continue live with just one guitarist until a temporary replacement is flown in over the coming days.
The frontman added that the rest of the band were “taken aback” by the events but remained committed to finishing The Screaming of the Américas tour. He also defended Cradle of Filth’s management, calling accusations against them “completely unjust and unfounded.”
Dani Filth’s defence of the management also gives a clue as to why Ashok was fired. Just a few hours earlier, Ashok had written on his Facebook page: “We simply do not feel like Cradle can provide for our future, and in fact hinders it. Among other reasons it is a lot of work for relatively low pay, the stress is quite high, and we haven’t felt for a while like this band is actually prioritizing/caring about members. It has been years of unprofessional behaviour from people above us that led to our decision.”
He continued by venting about the Ed Sheeran collaboration: “I have also asked all compositions of mine to be removed from upcoming releases including the Ed Sheeran collab. This song feels like foolish clown antics for me at this point anyway – first it was a charity single for kids, then a for-profit single, then on the next album, and now who knows. I just do not want to be involved anymore, no disrespect to Ed Sheeran.”
He ended his rant with: “And I am going to finish this tour strong! For the fans and for my friends in this band and crew! It is my last ride with Cradle and I am proud to give it my best. I am sad to not share the stage with my wife these last times, but I respect why she left and I am happy our friend Kelsey Peters has been given the opportunity to shine.”
Still, it’s hard to believe you would expect to show up for work the next day after publicly slamming your boss and the entire management team on social media.
It all started when keyboard player and female vocalist Zoe Marie Federoff – who is also Ashok’s wife – quit the tour without offering any explanation. The problem with vague Facebook statements is that people inevitably make up their own stories, and rumours spread fast. In this case, speculation claimed that Ashok had cheated on Federoff, which supposedly made her leave the band mid-tour.
Federoff quickly shut this down with a follow-up Facebook post, making it clear that this was not the case. In the same post, she dropped the bombshell that her husband Ashok would also be leaving the band after the tour.
That clearly didn’t happen, as Dani Filth fired him on the spot. The couple now join the long list of former members – 26 full members and 14 touring musicians. This puts Cradle of Filth just ahead of Megadeth in member turnover, with 25 former members to their name. The online feud is, for now, over – at least until one of the parties feels the need to speak their mind again and throw more gasoline on the already public shitshow.
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