Cradle Of Filth have spoken out on the “strange turn of events” that led to keyboardist and co-vocalist abruptly leaving the band mid-tour.
It comes as Zoe Marie Federoff took to social media to share that she had departed the line-up, effectively immediately, and would no longer be continuing during their current live dates.
“It is with deep regret I share that for personal reasons I am unable to continue this tour and continue in general with Cradle of Filth,” she wrote, asking fans to “please respect my privacy and my family’s privacy” as she “will answer no further questions”.
Although she did not share what the reason behind the exit was, she did tell fans to “be kind to my successor”, and dismissed rumours that the decision was made because her husband – Cradle Of Filth bandmate Marek “Ashok” Šmerda – was cheating.
The two announced their engagement last year and tied the knot in January. At the time of writing, he does not seem to be leaving the line-up with Federoff.
“[A] couple clarifying points since so many people decided to speculate in the nastiest possible ways. Ashok isn’t cheating. While the turmoil of being in the band has taken its toll on us, we remain very much certain that we love each other. Please be kind to my husband. He is a good man,” she wrote on Facebook, going on to insinuate that he may be exiting the band later this year.
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She added: “We were already planning to leave the band later this year. Certain events have sped that up for me. At this time there is nothing further I wish to clarify and I’d appreciate keeping the ugly rumors off my page and out of my inbox.”
Federoff joined Cradle of Filth in 2022, and was a part of the line-up when they shared their latest album ‘The Screaming Of The Valkyries’ in March 2025. Šmerda has been in the group for over a decade.
In response to the updates from Federoff, founder and singer Dani Filth has addressed the news and said that Kelsey Peters will be taking over backing vocals and keyboard duties for the remainder of the tour.
He also said that the updates come following “a strange turn of events [that] have manifested out here on tour for Cradle of Filth in South America.”
“Our keyboardist/backing singer Zoe Smerda has chosen to leave the band mid-tour, effective immediately. We, of course, wish her all the best for the future,” he shared. “And we as a band will continue onward and upward as always, with a replacement singer here in Kelsey Peters, one of the very talented CREWDLE members.”
“In life, one cannot always foresee what the future holds for us. But we will remain ever-professional and continue on with ‘The Screaming Of The Americas’ concerts for our fans without allowing any of this to sully our onward trajectory,” he added. “So, our South and Central American brethren, we will see you at the next spat of relentless shows.”
In other Cradle Of Filth news, singer Dani Filth proposed to his long-term girlfriend Sofiya Belousova during the band’s performance at Download Festival earlier this summer.
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