Cradle Of Filth has been left in chaos after two members of the band quit mid-way through their world tour over ‘low pay and stress.’
Just days in to their The Screaming of the Americas leg of shows, Marek ‘Ashok’ Šmerda and Zoe Marie Federoff announced their sudden departure.
Guitarist Ashok requested that his music be removed from the group’s upcoming collaboration with Ed Sheeran, which he slammed as ‘foolish clown antics.’
The duo, who are married, said Ashok will be finishing their Central American dates ‘strong’ but Zoe would be leaving with immediate effect.
After rounding off their tour in Mexico, Cradle Of Filth are next set to tour Europe, which will kick off with a show in Zurich, Switzerland in November.
In a statement shared to Instagram, Ashok wrote: ‘I ask you to please respect my wife and myself in this transitional period.’
Cradle Of Filth has been left in chaos after two members of the band quit mid-way through their world tour over ‘low pay and stress’ (frontman Dani Filth pictured in June)
Just days in to their The Screaming of the Americas leg of shows, Marek ‘Ashok’ Šmerda and Zoe Marie Federoff announced their sudden departure
He continued: ‘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.
‘I have also asked all compositions of mine removed from upcoming releases including Ed Sheeran collab.
‘This song feels like foolish clown antics for me at this point anyways- first it was charity single for kids, then for profit single, then on next album, and now who knows and I just do not want to be involved anymore, no disrespect to Ed Sheeran.
‘And meanwhile so many “brilliant” internet brains trying to speculate on personal affairs between me and Zoe- just stop this, please. We are trying to start new chapter.
‘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 opportunity to shine. This is all I have to say for now. Leave my wife alone. NEVER insult her or her choices in my presence… or else.’
Zoe shared another post and alleged that she made ‘£150 per day currently and £25K a year roughly in this band,’ and would rather leave than sign another contract.
Guitarist Ashok requested that his music be removed from the group’s upcoming collaboration with Ed Sheeran, which he slammed as ‘foolish clown antics’
In a statement, Ashok wrote: ‘We simply do not feel like Cradle can provide for our future, and in fact hinders it. It is a lot of work for relatively low pay, the stress is quite high’
Zoe shared another post and alleged that she made ‘£150 per day currently and £25K a year roughly in this band,’ and would rather leave than sign another contract
She said: ‘We planned this transition out of Cradle of Filth months ago. Management is dishonest, manipulative, and tries to take money that belongs to us with no contract between us session musicians and him.
‘The frontman does nothing to stop them and hides behind them while they belittle and steal.
‘We hold the frontman responsible for hiring this management and never advocating for his team, only himself.
‘Other ex members try to tiptoe around this and only blame management management works for the frontman.’
In another post, Zoe later added: ‘And for the last time. I never signed a contract with Cradle of Filth. I chose to leave rather than be pushed to sign the one we just got. I cannot answer that like 5,000 more times.’
Daily Mail has contacted a representative for Cradle Of Filth for comment.
The band’s frontman Dani Filth revealed in 2021 that he and Ed Sheeran had exchanged emails about a surprising duet, and it’s officially set to be included in their follow-up to Existence Is Futile.
After rounding off their tour in Mexico, Cradle Of Filth are next set to tour Europe, which will kick off with a show in Zurich, Switzerland in November
Speaking to Pelna Kulturka, Dani teased: ‘Well, one of the surprises, obviously, but it’s not so much a surprise is that we’ve got a song that we have Ed Sheeran guesting on.
‘People have heard it and loved it. But it is what you imagine – it’s Cradle Of Filth and it’s Ed Sheeran.
‘It sounds like Ed Sheeran, it sounds like Cradle Of Filth. There’s a blast beat in it.’
He insisted that the album is not an attempt to have ‘commercial’ success and continued: ‘I think it’s gonna surprise a lot of people, the album. But it doesn’t necessarily mean the album is commercial.
‘It’s a very heavy record. We just upped the game as a band. We moved one step further toward the future from our previous record.’