Millions share videos on TikTok each day, hoping their post will be the one to break through for a chance at virality and fame. In 2022, Miranda Derrick, a Los Angeles-based dancer, seemed to be doing just that on social media. Then came the post from Derrick’s family.
That year, Derrick’s mother, father, and her sister Melanie Wilking, who had formerly performed alongside Miranda as the Wilking Sisters, went live on Instagram, alleging Miranda had fallen under the control of the so-called 7M Dance Cult. Miranda got involved, they said, through another dancer — James Derrick, who performs as BDash, and who is now Miranda’s husband. Miranda and BDash did not invite the Wilking family to their wedding.
On the surface, 7M Films is a talent agency supporting internet-famous dancers, and Miranda had seemingly found some success while represented by the company. She appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and danced at L.A. Clippers games. However, according to Derrick’s family, 7M has shadowy links to Shekinah Church, a Los Angeles-based religious organization founded by Pastor Robert Shinn, 7M’s co-founder, with content created by Robert’s son, Isaiah Shinn.
The Shinns promise aspiring social media dancers fame and fortune, then reportedly isolate them from their past lives and their families for “religious salvation,” but all the while, the setup financially enriches the Shinn family, according to civil litigation brought by the Wilking family and other internet-famous dancers 7M once represented.
7M told dancers they need to “die to” their families
When dancers sign with 7M, they are reportedly told they need to “die to” themselves and their families, and by doing so, save them in the afterlife, according to video footage and firsthand accounts. As well as cutting dancers off from their families, a tell-tale sign of cult activity, some dancers live in Shinn-owned properties, sign NDAs, and hand over, or “tithe” portions of their earnings. There have also been sexual abuse allegations.
7M claimed in an Instagram statement that the Shekinah Church and the talent agency are separate entities. Miranda Derrick, meanwhile, has denied she’s in a cult. Derrick told The Cut,
I am not held against my will and I’ve never been a hostage. I go to church and I have faith in God. If one day I wish to pursue my faith elsewhere, I will and feel completely free to do that. As far as my career, my time at 7M Films has been one of the most exciting years ever and if one day I wish to partner with a different management company or start my own company, I will. No one is forcing me to do anything.”
via The Cut
Derrick and BDash, both working dancers, are still married and remain involved in 7M. BDash has called 7M a “secular for-profit company run by people who have faith in God. It is their job to manage/control our bookings or schedules… That is not a cult activity, it’s called doing business,” according to CNN.
In the meantime, BDash and Miranda have characterized Miranda’s dispute with her family as a private matter. Miranda, who still works with 7M, contacted her family when Robert Shinn backtracked his no-contact policy, but questions remain about their relationship.
7M has been targeted by several lawsuits
In addition to the ongoing Wilking family civil suit, 7M is named in a cross-complaint former 7M dancers filed, which alleges fraud, sexual battery, and human trafficking, among other charges. The cross-complaint came after the Shinn family sued a group of 7M members for defamation, and the case is set to go to trial in 2025, CNN reported. To date, no criminal charges have been filed against the Shinn family.
Following the Derricks and Wilkings, as well as the story of Melanie and Priscylla Lee, sisters dancers who have since left the church, The 7M story is now told in Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, a docuseries streaming now on Netflix.