Netflix’s new docuseries “Dancing For The Devil” delves into the shocking cult allegations at an LA church and talent agency.
The series focuses on the alleged cult-like atmosphere that TikTok dancers signed to 7M Films had to endure, with controversial pastor Robert Shinn at the center of the story.
Miranda Derrick, a TikTok dancer, is also a key figure in the controversy surrounding the cult, which has sparked widespread interest and discussion.
Check the Instagram Accounts below for clues.
Miranda Derrick, Melanie Wilking, James Derrick @dbash_2, Vik White @itsslavic, Aubrey Fisher @_aubreyfisher
TIME NEWS
The documentary series Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, now streaming on Netflix, traces the formation of the management company 7M Films by founder, Robert Shinn, who is also a Shekinah church pastor. Over three episodes, Dancing for the Devil reveals claims from multiple former 7M members about how Shinn abused and manipulated them and created a cult-like environment.
The series largely focuses on the stories of two different pairs of sisters who worked with Shinn—the influencers Melanie Wilking and Miranda Derrick (formerly Wilking) and Melanie and Priscylla Lee. The Lee sisters came to know Shinn after joining his Shekinah church in 1999 as young Korean immigrants. They integrated themselves into the church community and began living in a house with other church members. Melanie Lee eventually escaped the home and left the church, trying to bring her sister with her, but Priscylla refused to leave—causing them to be separated for a decade.
Shinn founded 7M in 2021 and the lines between his church and the talent management company have always been blurry. Melanie Wilking and her parents first brought attention to the darker side of 7M in a 40-minute Instagram Live in 2022, in which they tried to reach out to Miranda, saying they had not being in touch with her for years. The family shares tearfully in Dancing for the Devil that Miranda joined a “religious organization” in late 2019 and was told to cut them out of her life.
Dancing for the Devil explores how Shinn used his influence as a pastor to form a TikTok dance management company. The series also shows how Wilking’s Instagram Live became the catalyst for multiple publications to investigate 7M, giving former members and their families a chance to share their stories.
Robert Shinn's LA-based Shekinah church started out small, Melanie Lee explains in the series. “There were maybe 15 people, and that included his family and his sister Catherine’s family,” she says. She adds that Robert and Catherine “promised” her and Priscylla all of the love the two of them “never really experienced.” Over the years, Shinn opened several businesses, including a café, two mortgage companies, two real estate companies, and two flower shops. Lee says in the documentary that employees of these businesses were made up of members of the Shekinah church. She says the employees were paid very little (she was paid $100 a week) and worked 12-hour shifts.
Shinn’s interests shifted following a failed attempt as a Hollywood executive producer—and he began the management company 7M Films and found the dancers, including Miranda, on social media. He saw them as a new revenue stream.
Through 7M, Shinn was able to get the dancers in his management company opportunities like commercials, bookings on The Ellen Show, and dancing at the Los Angeles Clippers games. He still led the Shekinah congregation, which included many of his clients, whom he bragged about during his sermons. Dancing for the Devil details how the influencers on his roster sought out Shinn's approval by proving they would do whatever it took to get his attention.
The series also details Shinn's controversial practices as a leader. Former members have accused him of sexual, emotional, and financial abuse. Shinn, 7M, and Shekinah Church did not participate in the documentary series. He has denied sexually abusing members of the company or the church.
Why 7M members had to cut off their families
We see this “dying to your family” play out with the Wilking sisters. In the series, Melanie Wilking explains that she and her sister were inseparable until Miranda joined 7M, even going so far as to get married without telling her family.
Miranda is now in contact with her family after Shinn changed his tune in July 2022, following the departure of multiple 7M dancers from the company. He suggested that it would be better for 7M congregants to be in contact with their families.
Raising Voices (Spanish: Ni una más) is an Spanish teen drama television miniseries based on the novel by Miguel Sáez Carral. It stars Nicole Wallace, Clara Galle, and Aïcha Villaverde. The series premiered on 31 May 2024 on Netflix.
PLOT
The plot follows the plight of 17-year-old Alma and fellow friends Greta and Nata. Their normality is upended the day Alma hangs a banner in their high-school reading "watch out, there is a rapist hiding in there".
CAST
Old is a 2021 American body horror thriller film written, directed, and produced by M. Night Shyamalan. It is based on the French-language Swiss graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Lévy and Frederik Peeters. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Alex Wolff, Thomasin McKenzie, Abbey Lee, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ken Leung, Eliza Scanlen, Aaron Pierre, Embeth Davidtz, and Emun Elliott. The plot follows a group of people who find themselves aging rapidly on a secluded beach.
Guy and Prisca Cappa are going through a separation. To avoid saddening their young children, Maddox and Trent, the couple take them to a tropical resort as a final family vacation. At their hotel, Guy and Prisca are given complimentary drinks, and the children befriend Idlib, the resort manager's nephew. At night, Maddox and Trent overhear their parents arguing and play a message decoding game with Idlib. During the argument, it is revealed that Prisca has a benign slow-growing ovarian tumour.
The next morning, the manager invites the family to a secluded beach where three additional parties are present: rapper Brendan "Mid-Sized Sedan" and his female companion; surgeon Charles, his elderly mother Agnes, his wife Chrystal, and their young daughter Kara; as well as Jarin and Patricia Carmichael, a close-knit husband and wife. Trent discovers the corpse of Brendan's companion. Charles grows suspicious of Brendan, who reveals that he has been experiencing nosebleeds because of his hemophilia. After the children rapidly turn into teenagers and Agnes suddenly dies, the families conclude that the beach is aging them, with the occupants undergoing the equivalent of one year of aging every 30 minutes. At least one member of each family has an underlying medical condition. They discover that trying to leave will result in them blacking out and waking up back where they left.
In a fit of rage, Charles cuts Brendan with a pocket knife, and the group watches as his injury quickly heals. Prisca's supposedly slow-growing ovarian tumour rapidly grows in size at a life-threatening rate. Charles performs a successful surgery to remove it. Brendan discovers that the body of his companion has fully decomposed in a matter of hours. Kara and Trent continue to age into their late teens, and after having sex with each other, Kara gets pregnant at a rapid pace. She gives birth, but the baby dies due to the time rapidly passing. The attempts to leave grow increasingly tense as Charles's worsening schizophrenia causes him to kill Brendan. As the day goes on, Jarin drowns, Kara falls to her death, and Patricia suffers a fatal epileptic seizure. Guy's eyesight blurs, and Prisca suffers hearing loss. Trent and Maddox discover the notebook of a previous traveller, along with indications of their being watched. At night, Charles attacks Guy and Prisca in a schizophrenic episode; Prisca runs as Charles continues to attack Guy. Chrystal's hypocalcaemia results in her bones rupturing, killing her. Prisca returns and slashes Charles with a rusted knife, instigating a fatal blood infection that kills him. An elderly Guy and Prisca make amends before dying moments apart from each other.
Seven Kings Must Die, 2023 is a historical drama film and the conclusion to the television series The Last Kingdom. Set in the 10th century...
