The mystery surrounding Miranda Derrick, a dancer and TikTok star with more than 2 million followers, lies at the heart of the Netflix docuseries “Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult,” now streaming on the platform.
Several dancers formerly signed with the management company 7M Films signed onto a 2023 lawsuit against 7M Films and its owner, Robert Shinn, as did former members of Shinn’s controversial Shekinah Church.
Miranda Derrick garnered attention due to the allegations her family made in a video posted to Instagram in 2022, accusing 7M of exerting unhealthy control over its dancers.
Melanie Wilking, Derrick’s sister, is also a popular dancer on TikTok and was at the center of the video that raised questions about 7M.
Melanie Wilking and her parents, Kelly and Dean, participated in the documentary. Miranda Derrick declined to comment.
Who are sisters Miranda Derrick and Melanie Wilking?
Miranda Derrick (neé Wilking) began dancing alongside her younger sister, Melanie Wilking, when they were both children, per Wilking’s interview in the documentary.
After graduating from a performing arts high school, Derrick moved to Los Angeles and worked as a dancer. When Wilking followed in her footsteps the year after, the sisters stayed close, filming TikTok videos, performing in competitions and teaching classes together. The pair even shared a YouTube channel.
Today, the two have upward of 7 million followers on TikTok and Instagram combined, and both are married. Derrick tied the knot with James “BDash” Derrick, a fellow dancer and choreographer who is also highly popular with more than 5.8 million followers on TikTok.
Miranda Derrick has also dabbled in solo YouTube content, uploading vlogs and reposting TikTok videos that have racked up hundreds of thousands of views as YouTube Shorts.
According to social media, Miranda and James Derrick, known as BDash, got engaged in August 2021 and tied the knot in February 2022.
In the caption of James Derrick’s Instagram post about the engagement, Shinn’s son, Isaiah Shinn, is tagged as the photographer. Isaiah Shinn is named as a defendant in the ongoing 2023 civil lawsuit.
Wilking is married to NFL pro Austin Ekeler.
What did Miranda Derrick’s family say about 7M?
On Derrick’s 25th birthday in February 2022, Melanie Wilking and her parents went on Instagram Live and, for nearly 40 minutes, described their belief that Derrick was trapped in a “cult.”
“Miranda is a part of a religious group, and she’s not allowed to speak to us,” Melanie Wilking said. She added that she believed Miranda Derrick and other dancers in the group were “not in control of their lives.”
Melanie Wilking and her parents stated that Miranda Derrick had cut all ties to the family after signing with 7M in January 2021 and that they believed she had been “brainwashed” by the organization.
“Someone else is controlling their lives, and they’re all victims of this,” Melanie Wilking continued.
7M Films was founded by Robert Shinn, pastor of the controversial Shekinah Church. Years before Miranda Derrick’s family spoke out about Shekinah, the church had been sued by a former member. The lawsuit echoed the brainwashing described by Derrick’s family.
In a 2022 expose about 7M Films, Rolling Stone reported that a former member of the Shekinah Church named Lydia Chung sued Shinn and several other defendants in 2009 for forcing her to turn over $3.8 million in property and assets through “undue influence, mind control, coercive persuasion, oppression and other intimidating tactics … all in the name of God.” She also claimed she was forced to work six days a week without pay. The judge ultimately ruled against her.
The 2023 civil lawsuit, which is still ongoing, said Shinn and other defendants subjected people “to brainwashing, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, manipulation, and exploitation.”
“Shekinah is a cult,” the lawsuit, filed in March 2023, read. “A cult that engages in egregious and despicable illegal behavior.” Later it calls Shekinah “a cult operating under the disguise of a religious institution.”
How did Miranda Derrick respond to her family’s allegations?
A representative for Miranda Derrick and her husband James Derrick, 7M, and Shinn denied the allegations and characterized the Wilkings’ claims as the result of a family disagreement.
“Miranda Derrick is a successful businesswoman and a loving wife and daughter who cares very much about her family,” the representative said in a statement provided to the Daily Beast. “While the recent portrayals of Dr. Robert Shinn and 7M Films have been wildly offensive and riddled with inaccuracies, those false claims will not deter 7M from supporting Miranda in whichever endeavors she chooses to pursue next.”
Where is Miranda Derrick now?
According to Derek Doneen, the director of “Dancing for the Devil,” Derrick is still working with 7M.
The filmmaker also says Derrick is aware that her parents participated in the Netflix project and that she continues to have a relationship with them.
Although, Doneen says, “it’s not the place that I think either of them want it to be.”
“My hope is that Miranda watches this and that she sees the love and desperation that is genuine that her family has,” Doneen added.
Miranda Derrick attended her younger sister’s wedding on May 24, 2024, and wrote, “Had such a great time at my sister’s wedding.”
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This article was originally published on TODAY.com
