It’s been a particularly messy past few months for Cradle Of Filth. In August, spouses Marek “Ashok” Šmerda and Zoe Federoff announced they were leaving the extreme metal band over “foolish clown antics” from frontman Dani Filth, “unprofessional behavior” from manager Dez Fafara, a “toxic” work environment, and “psychopathic” session contracts. Filth denied those allegations shortly thereafter with a lengthy statement where he divulged a lot of personal details about his ex-bandmates; he later followed that up with another statement apologizing for airing out that dirty laundry, but insisted again that the accusations of “theft” and “exploitation” were “false and damaging.” Now, Cradle Of Filth are heading to court.
On October 1 Federoff shared the legal complaint she and Ashok had filed against Cradle Of Filth and their management company Oracle. As of this month, that complaint has now been amended to include additional plaintiffs: Fellow ex-bandmates Richard Shaw, Paul Allender, and Lindsay Matheson, as well as Sasha Baxter, aka Sasha Massacre, a model who’s appeared in the band’s videos.
The lawsuit alleges unpaid royalties and “unauthorized use and ongoing commercial exploitation of Plaintiffs’ likenesses and images in merchandise.” It claims that some of the former band members were never compensated for studio time for Cradle Of Filth’s past three studio albums — 2017’s Cryptoriana – The Seductiveness Of Decay, 2021’s Existence Is Futile, and this year’s The Screaming Of The Valkyries — and that Baxter was never compensated for the two music videos she appeared in, or the merchandise sold using her likeness. Matheson also claims that Cradle Of Filth has used sigils she created without compensation or approval. Furthermore, the suit alleges defamation by Filth for publicly stating that Federoff drank alcohol while pregnant, implying that “her tragic miscarriage was caused by alcohol consumption.”
The plaintiffs are asking the court to issue an order requiring the band to destroy and cease selling any merch featuring the plaintiffs’ likenesses, and find the defendants liable for copyright infringement, defamation, and unjust enrichment. The plaintiffs are also asking for compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.
