TikTok star Melanie Wilking is weighing in on the Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult drama. In response to her estranged sister Miranda Derrick’s reaction to the doc, Melanie claimed that Miranda and her husband, James Derrick, “were reached out to many times” about it.
“And declined every time,” Melanie told Access Hollywood on Thursday, June 6.
The social media personality went on to point out that she and her family “knew [Miranda] was in a cult, so of course, we are going to have our guard up.” The dancer also explained that she “went to two of [7M’s] private dinners and two of the services that you have to be invited to, and I picked up on all these red flags.”
“So, when she’s saying that we weren’t supportive, it was because I was seeing what she wasn’t seeing,” Melanie continued, referring to Miranda. “I was seeing that they wanted to, because I wasn’t going anymore, they wanted to rip us apart. And sure enough look where we are.”
Earlier this week, Miranda shared a statement via her Instagram Stories about the cult allegations made in the three-part Netflix docuseries, which premiered on May 29.
“I love my Mom, Dad and Melanie and they will forever be a part of my life,” Miranda began. “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.”
Miranda then added that nobody “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.”
The Netflix doc focuses on the controversy with 7M Films Shekinah Church, which Miranda has been involved in since 2020. The group was founded by pastor Robert Shinn, who is currently in a legal battle against several former 7M members.
Robert filed a defamation lawsuit against a former church member in 2022. The member denied the accusations, and she countersued Robert the following year. In March 2023, the former member alleged, “Shekinah is a cult operating under the disguise of a religious institution,” per Rolling Stone.
