Miranda Derrick, a dancer on TikTok, is opening up about her complicated relationship with her family and their claim that she joined a cult.
The Netflix documentary Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, which debuted on May 29, explores the controversy surrounding the influencer, who gained notoriety with her sister Melanie through their joint Wilking Sisters account. Interviewee Robert Shinn, a Los Angeles church pastor, runs a talent management company called 7M Films, which Miranda allegedly severed ties with three years ago.
"I love my Mom, Dad and Melanie and they will forever be a part of my life," Miranda, 27, wrote on her Instagram Stories on June 4. "The truth is, we just don't see eye to eye at this time. I believe that this documentary is a one-sided story. 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."
She continued, "My parents and sister are not religious. They immediately called me going to church twice a week a 'cult.'"
Miranda shared solo photos of herself at her sister's wedding last week and added, "I have been getting together with them over the past couple years to make amends, move on and work things out as a family. This documentary has created a further challenge between us as I work to overcome this public attack."
Interviews from dancers who left 7M Films and are involved in civil litigation with Shinn were included in the documentary series. He sued a former church member for defamation in 2022; the defendant refuted the accusations. She countersued him, claiming in that filing that "Shekinah is a cult operating under the disguise of a religious institution," Rolling Stone reported, along with several other former churchgoers named as plaintiffs. According to NBC News, he has refuted the accusations in court documents. The case is still pending, and no charges have been made.
On the docuseries, a few dancers alleged that Shinn encouraged people to cut off contact with family members in order to "save" them. One of the dancers alleged Miranda once told her she missed her family, but the pastor told her it wasn't a good idea to see them. The influencer, she said, was "being brainwashed."
On her Instagram Stories, Miranda responded, "No one likes to be portrayed as their brainwashed/not in control of her own life/shell of herself/human trafficked daughter/sister when that just isn't the truth."
She continued, "I can't convince anyone to believe anything. I am just a woman trying to live my life. I am not a victim, I am not in any harm, I am not being abused. I've never asked my family or anyone else to 'help' me in any way. Respectfully, what I choose to do with my life is up to me."
In a June 4 statement to E! News, 7M Films called the docuseries "a slanderous work of fiction, born from a failed extortion attempt, and invented for the sole purpose of gaining fame and fortune."
The statement continued, "We will continue to pursue all legal remedies available to stop the spread of salacious lies and expect to be fully vindicated in court."
