Miranda Derrick is seen at WEAR THE FUTURE Christmas Party in Los Angeles, CA, USA-14 DEC 2023, Shutterstock
Dancer Miranda Derrick has responded to the Netflix documentary Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, calling it “one-sided” and a “public attack” on her.
The new docuseries follows a group of TikTok-famous dancers, including Derrick (née Wilking), who joined a management company called 7M run by Robert Shinn. Shinn was also the head of a religious group called Shekinah Church.
The doc hears from several former Shekinah Church members who accuse Shinn of running a cult, stealing money from the people through his management company, and encouraging church members to cut off contact with their families.
Shinn has not been charged with any crimes as of this writing, though multiple former members featured in the documentary have filed a civil lawsuit against him, accusing him of “brainwashing, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, manipulation, and exploitation,” according to USA Today. Shinn has denied the accusations.
Among the most vocal subjects in the documentary is Miranda Derrick’s sister, fellow dancer Melanie Wilking. The doc repeatedly shows Melanie and her parents expressing concern for Derrick’s well-being and fears that she may be in danger. Derrick joined Shinn’s 7M management company and church in 2020, though it is unclear whether she is still associated with him or his organizations today.
The doc follows the Wilking family as they try repeatedly over several months to get in contact with Miranda. Melanie and her parents ultimate reconnect with Miranda in person, though she asks that they not discuss her church or related matters.
In her statement released Tuesday, Derrick said she has seen the documentary and asserts that she is not in danger and is acting of her own free will. She also declines to comment on direct allegations, saying she is a plaintiff in a defamation suit — though she doesn’t clarify who she is suing.
In the statement, she never mentions Robert Shinn, Shekinah, or 7M by name.
“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 did not condone abuse in any way,” she wrote in the statement on her Instagram story, which you can read in full below.
She went on to call the documentary a “one-sided story.”
“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. 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 said.
“My family didn’t honor the space I asked for and I saw a different side of them I’ve never seen before. Honestly, it made me mad, frustrated and annoyed that they were being so overbearing and chaotic.”
Derrick also added that the documentary has made her relationship with her family more difficult, calling it a “public attack.” She also denied being in any danger.
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“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,” she said. “No one likes to be portrayed as they’re brainwashed/ not in control of her own life/ shell of herself/ human trafficked daughter/sister when that just isn’t the truth.”
Though she didn’t directly refute claims from documentary participants that 7M and Shekinah Church are a cult, she did acknowledge that the comparison had been made.
“My parents and sister are not religious. They immediately called me going to church twice a week a ‘cult,'” she said.
Later in the statement she added: “This documentary has created a further challenge between us as I work to overcome this public attack. No one likes to be portrayed as they’re brainwashed/ not in control of her own life/ shell of herself/ human trafficked daughter/sister when that just isn’t the truth.”
“I will add that I would have preferred that my family’s circumstances remain private. I’m forced and feel like I have no other choice but to defend myself because of all of this. I can’t convince anyone to believe anything. I’m 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.”
Netflix declined to comment on Derrick’s statement. Derrick did not immediately respond to MovieMaker‘s request for comment regarding whether she’s still associated with Robert Shinn.
You can read Derrick’s full statement below in screenshots from her June 4 Instagram story.
All episodes of Dancing for the Devil are now streaming on Netflix.
Main Image: Melanie Wilking (L) and Miranda Derrick (R) in Dancing for the Devil, Netflix
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