Miranda Derrick is still dancing. Two days after Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult was released on Netflix, the doc’s main subject is posting like nothing happened. On May 31, the influencer largely believed to be deeply embedded in a religious cult shared a new video dancing to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” with her husband, James “BDash” Derrick.
“Sometimes you gotta just stop and smell the coffee☕️💕,” she captioned the post. The only indication she’s aware of the massive response to the documentary—which is currently in the number one spot on Netflix’s top ten list—is the fact that her comments section has been restricted.
Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult documents the Wilking family’s fight to pull their daughter Miranda out of the 7M influencer management company, which is ran by Shekinah Church pastor Robert Shinn. The family first went viral in 2022 when they shared their concerns in an Instagram Live, which led a group of dancers from 7M to leave the church.
The documentary also tells the story of four of those dancers and other Shekinah survivors who are currently suing Shinn and other high-ranking members of his organization for “fraud, forced labor, and human trafficking.” Though multiple victims have gone to the police with accusations of sexual assault and abuse, no criminal charges have officially been filed against Shinn.
Many of the dancers still associated with 7M and Shekinah church have removed the company from their Instagram bios and restricted their comments sections. Nick Raiano, whose parents also participated in the documentary, appears to have deleted his account entirely. When the three-part exposé first launched on May 29, Miranda Derrick’s comment section was open and flooded with reactions to the series.
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While Dancing for the Devil director Derek Doneen says Shinn and the dancers were aware of their parents’ participation in the documentary before its release, he isn’t sure how they will react. “We don’t even know if they’re gonna watch it—if Robert will let them watch it, or if they’ll watch it on their own. I have no concept as to what exposure they’re going to have [to the documentary] and what they’re going to think,” Doneen told Glamour in an in-depth interview about the series.
He continued, “My hope is that they watch it. And my hope is that they just see that this is coming from a place of love, and that the humanity sort of breaks through whatever else might be clouding their ability to make a rational decision when it comes to their family.”
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