Cradle of Filth frontman Dani Filth is being sued by six former members of the band.
Court documents filed in Arizona and obtained by Louder Sound show that six individuals are taking legal action against Filth (real name Daniel Lloyd Davey), Cradle of Filth Touring Limited, Cradle of Filth LLP, and The Oracle Management.
Among the plaintiffs are Zoe Federoff and Marek ‘Ashok’ Smerda, who recently quit the heavy metal band citing financial concerns, stress at work and poor management.
Now it has emerged that they are joined by former band members Paul Allender – guitarist during two separate stints from 1992 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2014 – and Richard Shaw, who played guitar between 2014 and 2022, in a lawsuit filed against Filth. The case also names Lindsay Matheson, who was the group’s keyboardist from 2013 to 2020, along with Sasha Baxter (aka Sasha Massacre).
According to the outlet, the lawsuit raises claims of copyright violations, misuse of the plaintiffs’ images on merchandise, defamation, failure to pay royalties for performances and recordings, and other alleged unauthorised uses of intellectual property.
Filth is yet to respond to the allegations made against him in the lawsuit.
However, he has already drawn a firm line when it comes to accusations of “theft” and “exploitation” aimed at him, the band, and its management.
He told fans on Instagram in September: “These allegations are false and damaging.
“We maintain clear records that show otherwise, and any dispute will be dealt with properly—not through trial by social media.”
Despite the tension, he extended an olive branch to his former bandmates.
He said: “To Zoe and Ashok: despite everything, I do wish you well. We shared great times together, and I’ll always be grateful for those memories.”
Smerda quit shortly after his wife – Federoff – announced her departure, claiming they didn’t want to continue working “high” stress jobs for “relatively low pay”.
However, shortly after the announcement Filth posted a message declaring Smerda had been sacked with immediate effect. The statement – posted on the band’s Instagram page – read: “It is with a grave heart that Cradle Of Filth officially announce the firing of guitarist Marek ‘Ashok’ Smerda from the band, effective immediately.
“Despite all attempts to illegally defame and derail the band, Cradle Of Filth WILL NOT cancel any of our South American shows, though fans will have to bear with us being a band with only one guitarist live, that is of course until Ashok’s temporary replacement is flown out to join the tour in a few days time.
“Thank you for your understanding in this horrible matter, we are all in a state of shock over proceedings and will share our side to these unfortunate events in due course.
“Please, respect our decision to part with Ashok now rather than at the end of the tour and avoid speculation as more clarity on the situation will be provided.
“The rest of the band are cool, even if taken aback, and accusations toward management, who work very closely with me and the band are completely unjust and unfounded.
“Patience is a virtue and the truth will always out … “
The statement was posted shortly after the guitarist shared his own message on Instagram, which read: “Dear fans and friends, I ask you to please respect my wife and myself in this transitional period.
“I am indeed leaving Cradle of Filth at the end of this current tour, and the reasons behind this are conclusions my wife and I came together at long before this week.
“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 actually prioritizing/caring about members.
“It has been years of unprofessional behavior from people above us that led to our decision.”
He went on to reveal he wants all of his “compositions” removed from the band’s upcoming releases – including their new collaboration with pop star Ed Sheeran.