Miranda Derrick says Netflix 'Dancing for the Devil' cult docuseries put her 'in danger'
TikTok creator Miranda Derrick is voicing concerns for her safety following her family's involvement in Netflix's "Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult."
The docuseries, which premiered on May 29, centers on TikTok talent management company 7M Films and the Shekinah Church. It includes interviews with former 7M clients who allege that both the company and church are a cult. The film also accuses company and church founder Robert Shinn of exploitation, brainwashing, and several forms of abuse, allegations he has previously denied in court documents, per CNN and The Daily Beast.
Derrick, one of the show's subjects who signed with 7M Films, said in an emotional video shared to Instagram Monday that she and her husband James Derrick "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," she alleged, following up with screenshots of threatening messages she's received.
Derrick and her sister, Melanie Wilking, previously posted short dance routines through their joint social media account, called the Wilking Sisters, on TikTok and Instagram, amassing millions of followers together before they each went solo.
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"I don't understand how my parents and my sister thought that this documentary would help me or our relationship in any way," Derrick continued.
The docuseries concludes that Derrick and her family have been mending their relationship, although the dancer said that has since changed.
"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," she said.
Derrick concluded her video by promising to return to make more content as she "sees the light at the end of the tunnel."
Not 'brainwashed':Miranda Derrick hits back after portrayal in 'Dancing for the Devil'
Derrick says family rejects her embracing religion
In early 2022, Derrick's parents and sister posted a video claiming that the company "brainwashed" her into ending communication.
In an Instagram story posted on June 5, Derrick said that while pending litigation prevents her from addressing specific allegations, she wanted to share her side of the story.
"I love my Mom, Dad and Melanie and they will forever be a part of my life," she wrote. "The truth is, we just don't see eye to eye this time."
The internet dancer claimed that her sister logged Derrick out of the Wilking Sisters account and denied her requests for access, leaving her "no choice but to start my own career."
Derrick said that since she began embracing religion by going to church twice a week, her non-religious parents and sister accused her of being part of a "cult."
"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," Derrick 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 recalled visiting their hospitalized grandfather in 2020 the day he passed away and that Wilking became offended and angry when she began praying during the car ride there. She added that she chose not attend his funeral in Michigan out of fear her parents would stop her from going home in Los Angeles.
"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," Derrick said. "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."
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Melanie doubts sister Miranda saw the docuseries
In an interview with Glamour on June 6, Wilking said she doubts Derrick actually watched the docuseries based off her statement.
"I feel it is very clear that she did not watch it because it’s so much bigger than just our family situation," Wilking said. "It goes so much deeper into that and if you watch the documentary, you would know that. So it’s very sad to me, it was very sad when I read that. And it’s like, I do not believe that she watched it."
7M calls 'Dancing for the Devil' series 'a slanderous work of fiction'
In a statement to USA TODAY, 7M Films called the Netflix "a slanderous work of fiction, born from a failed extortion attempt, and invented for the sole purpose of gaining fame and fortune."
Contributing: Emily DeLetter