Religious cults – and cults in general — are dangerous. Yet, people continue to join them, and a new Netflix documentary points to the alleged 7M TikTok cult as an example.
Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult offers a fascinating look at a purported religious cult and its alleged ties to TikTok dancers and the 7M Films talent management agency in Los Angeles.
TikTok dancers, a talent agency and a religious cult are an unlikely combination. But the Netflix documentary says a man named Robert Shinn is at the center of all three groups.
Shinn pastors a small non-denominational Christian church and serves as CEO of the talent management company 7M Films in Los Angeles. And according to Dancing for the Devil, he leads a religious cult that involves both organizations.
As you might expect, Shinn denies cult-like behavior and insists there’s no connection between his Shekinah Church and 7M Films. So, what exactly is “cult-like” behavior?
How Do You Recognize a Cult?
“Most cults are extremely small and very deliberately try to stay under the radar,” according to international cult expert Steve Eichel. “Unless they commit a crime, unless they do something that draws attention and criticism to them – we generally don’t know about them.”
Eichel estimates that as many as 10,000 cults exist in the U.S. but admits that keeping track of them isn’t easy. There are, however, certain characteristics that pinpoint cults.
The Cult Education Institute says cults…
- Are authoritarian and offer no accountability
- Use deception to recruit members
- Have zero tolerance for criticism
- Are very secretive about their finances
- Instill an unreasonable fear of outsiders in their members
- Convince members that there is no legitimate reason for leaving the group
- Abuse members
- Instill the idea that members are never “good enough”
- Convince members that their leader is always right
- Instill the belief that the leader is their only source of “truth”
Why Do People Join Cults?
A Teen Vogue article – What Is a Cult and Why Do People Join Them? – quotes sociologist Janja Lalich as saying, “Many people join cults because they are looking for a sense of purpose in their lives or because they want to belong.”
She explained that cult leaders target people who don’t fit into society and then exploit underlying problems in their lives. Mental health issues, struggles with substance abuse and feelings of insecurity make people easy targets.
Cult leaders convince potential followers that they will become part of something bigger than themselves when they join their group.
New followers “lower their defenses and are more likely to accept the stranger aspects of their new communities,” Lalich explained.
As followers cut ties to other sources of social and financial support, they develop an “us-vs-them” mentality that makes leaving the cult difficult, she said.
Dancing for the Devil
The Netflix documentary Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult follows sisters Miranda and Melanie Wilking, who had a TikTok channel with more than three million followers and a number of lucrative brand partnerships. But in 2019, everything began to fall apart, according to The Independent, a news outlet.
That April, Miranda connected with a fellow dancer named James “BDash” Derrick for a dance video that led to romance. They married in 2021.
At some point, Derrick introduced Miranda to his videographer, Isaiah Shinn, who introduced the couple to the Shekinah Church and his father, Robert Shinn. The elder Shinn is a doctor-turned-preacher-and-businessman – and allegedly – a cult leader.
By 2021, Melanie was noticing that her once-close sister was distancing herself, the publication said. When the girls’ grandfather died in Michigan in early 2021, Miranda said she needed “someone closer to God” to approve a trip home for the funeral. Ultimately, she decided not to attend.
By 2022, the girls’ family began to suspect that the Shekinah Church and 7M Films constituted a cult. In February, they attempted to contact Miranda on Instagram Live. Their plea went viral, and Miranda responded with a statement to The Cut, an online publication.
She insisted that “no one is forcing me to do anything” and said she was free to leave the Shekinah Church and 7M Films whenever she chose.
A Family’s Agony
“The Wilking family is featured in the documentary, and their interviews provide agonizing insights into what it’s like to grapple with the sudden absence of a loved one who’s fallen under the influence of a charismatic leader,” Netflix said. (See the trailer here.)
“I think audiences will be surprised by how easily regular people can get sucked into cult-like groups and how devastating the impact can be on families, friends, and communities,” the film’s director Derek Doneen said.
Doneen noted that Shinn’s church encouraged members to donate money and break away from their families from the beginning, according to The Independent. He also claimed that Shinn’s “brand of manipulation and control is typical of many other cult leaders.”
Other Dancers Speak Out
Dancing for the Devil includes interviews with several dancers who say they fled the alleged 7M TikTok cult. These former members told Netflix they are currently working from the outside to take it down.
“This series is about exposing the wrongdoers and setting the story straight, all with the hope of helping those still under the control of the church,” according to executive producer Jessica Acevedo.
Robert Shinn denies any ties between Shekinah Church and 7M Films, but Netflix alleges that he treats 7M as an extension of the church.
“Several dancers who have since parted ways with 7M say that Shinn exercised an extreme amount of control over them, from how their dance routines should look to financial decisions, mandating that they turn over a large portion of their earnings to the church,” Netflix said.
“On a personal level, the dancers were also encouraged to cut ties with the family and loved ones who were not part of 7M and Shekinah.”
Targeting TikTok Dancers?
Several dancers who left the so-called 7M TikTok cult said Shinn “reworked his church” to target famous Tik-Tok dancers and “take advantage of their vulnerability as aspiring artists who had moved to LA to chase their dreams.”
Business Insider’s story notes that Dancing for the Devil “paints a surprising picture of how content creators can potentially be taken advantage of while trying to build their brands and find success.”
Former members make several other allegations against Shinn. They say….
- Shinn received most of their income in the form of tithes and fees.
- They were encouraged to cut ties with friends and family not involved in 7M Films and Shekinah.
- They were forced to attend lengthy late-night Bible study sessions.
- Shinn was “overall abusive.”
The Netflix Interviews
Melanie Wilking has a central role in Netflix’s documentary, as she talks at length about her sister Miranda and the Shekinah Church. Neither Miranda nor her husband appear in the film.
But Melanie discusses attending several services with her sister. Those services ended for her when a church member insisted that Melanie attend a service on a moment’s notice.
“I’ve gone to different churches growing up and no one ever is like ‘You have to be there, now!’” Melanie said.
TikTok dancer Aubrey Fisher shared his experiences with the church as well, saying he began attending in its early days. And he claimed that Shinn created 7M Films shortly after learning about Fisher’s huge following on TikTok.
Fisher left Shekinah Church and 7M Films in 2022 but continues to make dance videos on Instagram and TikTok.
Dancer Kylie Douglas also appeared in Dancing for the Devil, saying that Shinn “created a culture of paranoia among his followers. She said that she felt she couldn’t even fully share her thoughts with Fisher in case they somehow got back to Shinn.”
She left the Shekinah Church at the same time Fisher left because of Shinn’s “worrying behavior” and claims the church is a cult.
Dancer Kailea Gray joined Shinn’s church with her boyfriend and future husband Kevin “Konkrete” Davis, but they left it in 2022 after allegations against Shinn and the church surfaced. The couple continues to perform, and Konkrete has even toured with Beyonce’.
Another dancer who joined Shekinah and 7M is Nick “RainO” Raiano, according to Business Insider. Raiano’s parents said he slowly cut ties with them, and when they started receiving texts again, they suspected their son wasn’t writing them.
Raiano still appears to have connections to the church and 7M. He “has deleted his Instagram and TikTok accounts. His main YouTube channel has also disappeared, although his old account with one video is still available,” Business Insider reported.
Updating the Story
A recent story by The Independent updated readers about Miranda Wilking Derrick and Robert Shinn. The news outlet reported that Miranda re-established contact with her family and began dancing with her sister again.
However, the reunion appears to have been short-lived. Several days ago, Miranda announced that she and her husband have received death threats since Netflix released Dancing for the Devil.
“Before this documentary, my husband and I – we felt safe. Now that this documentary is out, we feel like our lives have been put in danger,” she said.
She explained that the couple has been followed and received hate mail and death threats. And she blames her family.
“I have been getting together with my family for the past couple of years, privately, to work on our relationship…. And this documentary has made it very difficult to continue doing that,” she said.
Miranda also slammed the film as “a one-sided story” and denied that she’s a “victim.”
As for Robert Shinn, the pastor-businessman has filed a lawsuit against several former church members claiming defamation and trade libel.
His lawsuit was followed by a countersuit filed by a group of former 7M dancers. That suit accuses Shinn of fraud, forced labor and trafficking, according to The Independent.
No criminal charges have been filed, and the case has not yet gone to trial.
What’s next? Only time will tell.
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