Melanie Wilking has issued her first statement about her relationship with her older sister, Miranda Derrick, since the May 29 premiere of Netflix’s Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult. Derrick is one of the subjects of the docuseries who is a part of an alleged cult run by Shekinah church pastor Robert Shinn.
On June 2, Wilking (now Ekeler) shared on Instagram that she and her parents are grateful for the outpouring of support that they’ve received from viewers. She also revealed that her relationship with her sister has remained intact since they first reestablished contact in 2022.
“Thankfully, since going public in 2022, we have reunited with my sister, who even attended my wedding,” she wrote. “We believe that one day my sister and the other victims will realize their love for their families and faith was exploited.”
Instagram/@melaniewilking
Instagram/@melaniewilking
In the docuseries, the Wilkings share that they were able to reconnect with Miranda on her condition that they not discuss anything related to 7M, the allegedly predatory management company founded by Shinn, which Miranda joined around 2021. However, Melanie and her mother, Kelly describe their relationship with Miranda as superficial and performative; they suggest that Miranda is simply collecting footage to appease viewers who were worried about her well-being after her family’s Instagram Live video.
Also in the docuseries, Melanie mourns the sister Miranda once was when they were part of the joint Wilking Sisters brand, noting that she’d always dreamt of having her sister as her maid of honor at her wedding. Melanie Wilking did get married a few days before the docuseries aired, and Miranda shared a photo of herself at the venue. However, Miranda did not appear to attend the bachelorette party, which Melanie posted about in May. She also did not appear to have a part in the wedding.
Miranda has not directly addressed the cult allegations herself, however, on June 2, she shared a dance video alongside 7M member Kendra Willis—a frequent collaborator in Miranda’s videos. Willis captioned the video, “Dancing it out with my sis by my side.” Miranda also shared the post, seeming to fire back at her real sister, Melanie, in doing so.
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