TikTok star who’s subject of ‘cult’ Netflix documentary denies she’s a ‘victim’ after damning allegations-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

A TikTok star who is the subject of a new Netflix documentary has shut down claims she is part of a cult.

Released last week, Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult centres on allegations against 7M Films, a company that represents TikTok dancers including Miranda Derrick.

The three-part series explores Miranda’s family’s claims that the dancer is stuck in a cult run by Robert Shinn, the pastor at Shekinah Church in Los Angeles and the founder of 7M Films, which manages her dance career.

However a few days after the documentary hit screens, Miranda has now said she is ‘not a victim’ and is ‘not in any harm’.

Posting a video on social media, she began by saying: ‘Hey guys, I hope you’re having a wonderful day! I just wanted to hop on here really quick and first of all, say thank you so much to everybody who’s been so supportive during this time.’

Miranda, 27, said she couldn’t go into ‘too much detail because of legal purposes’ but that she wanted to add her ‘side of the story’.

TikTok star Miranda Derrick has responded to claims made about her being in a ‘cult’ (Picture: Miranda Derrick/ Instagram)

Then sharing two written posts to her 1.6 million followers, Miranda went into more detail.

‘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,’ she began.

“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.”

Before joining 7M, Miranda, who is married to fellow 7M dancer James Derrick, had amassed a strong social media following with her sister under the account The Wilking Sisters.

However, in 2022 Melanie Wilking and her parents claimed Miranda was in a cult, allegations Shinn, 7M and the Shekinah Church have denied.

She shared a statement on social media (Picture: Miranda Derrick/ Instagram)

The dancer said she was ‘not a victim or in any harm’ (Picture: Miranda Derrick/ Instagram)

But Miranda said that although she had wanted to continue the account with her sister, she was logged out and denied access.

‘So, I had no other choice but to start my own account and pursue my own career,’ she continued.

She went on to claim her family hadn’t respected her wishes to be given space and she saw a ‘different side of them’, saying they had become ‘overbearing and chaotic’.

She then addressed missing her grandfather’s funeral after her family had claimed in the documentary that 7M was somehow involved in not allowing her to attend.

In the series, it was said she didn’t attend after saying she needed permission from ‘someone closer to God’ to fly home.

Her sister Melanie speaks in the documentary (Picture: Netflix)

The influencer said that in Christmas 2020, after learning her grandfather didn’t have long to live, she and her sister went to visit him, but she felt shamed after her sister ‘got angry and told me to stop’ when she began to pray.

Miranda said when it came time for his funeral, she chose not to go because ‘I was being harassed’ and ‘felt threatened by’ her family.

That same year she and James got engaged, later marrying without any of her family present.

In February 2022 Melanie and her parents Kelly and Dean made their fears about Miranda being in a cult public for the first time.

In a 40-minute plea on Instagram Live, the family they were hoping to make contact with Miranda.

Miranda said her family had become ‘overbearing and chaotic’ (Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Although she went on to explain they’d been working at ‘making amends’, the documentary had created a ‘further challenge’ and she saw it as a ‘personal attack’.

‘No one likes to be portrayed as brainwashed/not in control of her own life/shell of herself/human trafficked daughter/sister when that just isn’t the truth,’ she wrote.

‘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 anything 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.’

She is married to fellow 7M dancer James Derrick (Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

She added that she’s never asked her family or anyone else to ‘help me in anyway’ and added that what she chose to do with her life was up to her.

In recordings from his church services shared in the documentary, Shinn can be heard influencing members to cut ties with their family members who do not belong to the organisation.

He is also accused of taking financial advantage of the social media stars, mandating in some cases that they donate up to 70 percent of their earnings to Shinn and Shekinah.

At the end of the series, Netflix included a statement 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 co-defendants deny the claims against them. The case is set to go to trial in 2025.’

Metro.co.uk has contacted Netflix for comment.

Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult is streaming on Netflix.

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