Marek “Ashok” Smerda , former guitarist of Cradle of Filth , has once again responded to vocalist Dani Filth after his “final statement” regarding his recent departures from the group. In his statement, Filth revealed that his mother, Susan Janet Moore , has advanced cancer.
Ashok criticized the frontman on Instagram for using his mother's illness to gain sympathy from fans. He also refuted comments that his wife, keyboardist Zoe Marie Federoff , lost a baby on tour due to alcohol consumption [ via Loudwire ].
Full statement from Marek “Ashok” Smerda responding to Dani Filth
“To Dan, after the last post. And I believe this will be the end of public statements from my wife and me, as long as it’s the end from him too. I know this is upsetting everyone… me too, but private conversations haven’t solved anything for months. Understand that going public was the last resort.”
“I’m usually the quietest person, even when I’m hurt, and that’s probably why it took me 12 years to talk about all this properly. Here are my hands. The hands I used to serve you for 12 years. To compose and play music for you. I gave you these hands.”
“Your mother has always been a great person to me and I wish her well. Her heart is huge, as far as I know. However, it seems petty to use her now as an excuse when we all know she’s been ill since last year. Everyone has been by your side and supported you, Dan. We all gave you so much love and support as soon as you told us.”
“I lost my own mother in a sudden medical tragedy and never got to say goodbye to her—there wasn’t time. She never saw me on stage with Cradle. She haunts me every day. But her memory tells me to be a better man and treat others better. I would never use her as an excuse to hurt others.”
“But if you respect mothers, then why twist our miscarriage tragedy into something that didn’t happen to my wife? She never drank during her pregnancy. However, her doctor told her that lack of sleep, an irregular schedule, constant pressure from management threatening her job if she did something they didn’t like… all of that likely contributed to her body rejecting the pregnancy. She shows high signs of the stress she’s experiencing.”
“It’s true we can’t blame you for everything, but to assume she drank during her pregnancy was low, as we all know there are very few things worse to accuse a woman of than killing her own child.”
“I’ve seen the rest of the band protest or argue with you and the managers many times, but only Zoe was chosen to be ridiculed and punished. Even now, her ‘fans’ call her crazy, but I can assure you that all the men in the band have said the same things she has. I say this too. There was never the same respect for my wife as there was for the men’s opinions.”
“You once had my respect and complete loyalty, respect you lost a while ago and loyalty you threw away recently. Even when I stopped respecting you, when it became obvious you didn’t care about us, I remained loyal. Until… you responded to our heartfelt plea to give us a better chance to live with that sordid contract, which all musicians know you sent with instructions to sign as quickly as possible. Nobody has a shitty contract lying around to be sent by mistake.”
“Not taking responsibility, even now, for the many ways you screw us over, isn’t surprising, but it’s still sad, Dan… because, again, even after years of being treated as disposable, I poured my heart and soul into albums for you… because I love music and I love the joy of the fans.”
“It’s sad that you haven’t been able to take responsibility for these particular issues, and now they’re public, so we’re all caught in a giant storm. It’s your fault for not allowing anything to be resolved privately. You simply ignored, ignored, ignored everything we tried to tell you for so long. I wish I could see a man when I look at you, Dan, but I don’t. I see excuses.”
“In time, everything will come to light, as I don’t believe we’ll be the last to say anything—although now it’s obvious why the other 40 former members never said much. It’s been hell for us to speak openly. But I don’t regret it.”
“Treat my brothers who are still in the band better, if there’s any honor left in you. They are very good people and will always have my love and support. That’s our goal.”
READ ALSO: Dani Filth speaks out about departures from Cradle of Filth
