Miranda Derrick Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Miranda Derrick claims that her life is “in danger” following the release of the Netflix docuseries Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult.
Derrick, 27, is a focus of the three-part series, which premiered in late May and explores her family’s claims that the 7M dancer is allegedly stuck in a cult run by Robert Shinn, the pastor at Shekinah Church in Los Angeles and the founder of 7M Films, which oversees her dance career.
“Before this documentary, my husband [fellow 7M dancer James Derrick] and I felt safe,” Derrick said in an Instagram video on Monday, June 10. “Now that this documentary is out, we feel like our lives have been put in danger. We have both been followed in our cars, we have received hate mail, death threats, people have been sending us messages to commit suicide, and we’ve been stalked.”
Citing several instances, she claimed, “Someone said that, ‘If I see you on the street, I’m going to come and get you so you better get security.’ Someone also said that, ‘If I see you walking on the sidewalk, I’m going to come and shove you in the trunk of my car.’”
Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic Sisters and influencers Miranda Derrick (née Wilking) and Melanie Wilking went from running a successful joint TikTok account to being estranged, and they have conflicting stories about how that happened. Miranda and Melanie grew up in Michigan with a shared love of dance. Once they reached adulthood, they both decided to move to […]
Dancing for the Devil has deepened Derrick’s rift with her parents, Dean and Kelly Wilking, and her sister, Melanie Ekeler. “I don’t understand how [they] thought that this documentary would help me or our relationship in any way,” Derrick said, adding, “I have been getting together with my family for the past couple of years, privately, to work on our relationship, to make things right, to mend what has been broken. I’ve been loving getting together, laughing, just enjoying each other’s company. And this documentary has made it very difficult to continue doing that.”
The series follows several dancers and their families as they search for answers about Shinn, who’s accused of sexual assault by multiple women. In recordings from his church services, Shinn is heard influencing members to cut ties with family members who do not belong to the organization. He is also accused of taking financial advantage of the social-media stars, ordering in some cases that they donate up to 70 percent of their earnings to Shinn and Shekinah.
Netflix included a statement at the end of the doc that read: “No criminal charges have been brought against Shinn. He has previously denied sexually abusing any member of Shekinah or any client of 7M. The civil lawsuit is ongoing. Robert and his codefendants deny the claims against them. The case is set to go to trial in 2025.”
On Tuesday, June 4, Derrick broke her silence on the doc, stating that she was “not a victim,” “not in any harm,” and “not being abused.”
Miranda Wilking’s life with husband James Derrick looks picture-perfect based on her social media presence, but her family members claim there’s more to the story. Miranda’s parents and sister, Melanie Wilking, took to Instagram Live in February 2022 to claim that Miranda had been indoctrinated into a cult that targets dancers. The concerned family said […]
“I want to start by saying that I appreciate the concern that has been expressed for my well-being. Due to pending litigation, in which I am a plaintiff in a defamation lawsuit, it’s not appropriate for me to comment on specific allegations. Though I will state that I do not condone abuse in any way,” Derrick, who had previously denied she is in a cult, wrote via an Instagram Story.
She called Dancing for the Devil “one-sided” in its coverage of 7M.
“I love my Mom, Dad and Melanie and they will forever be a part of my life. The truth is, we just don’t see eye to eye at this time. I believe that this documentary is a one-sided story,” Miranda wrote. “I gave my life to Jesus Christ in 2020 and asked my family for some space in the very beginning to collect my thoughts and process my new walk I wanted to take with God.”
During a recent interview with Us, the doc’s director, Derek Doneen, said that the production had informed Derrick during the filming that her family was participating.
“I know there was a lot of thought that went into how to tell her, but they did have that conversation and we, of course, reached out to Miranda a few times inviting her to participate and tell her the story from her perspective,” he said. “I think those emotions run high and are probably still present, but we don’t wanna speak for them.”
