AAlmost all internet personalities who create content on social media have the same goal: to become a TikTok star by making posts that will go viral and make money. The biggest challenge everyone faces is figuring out how to sustain that popularity and translate it into a thriving career. That’s where management companies come in – they play a role in helping creators come up with publishing plans and find advertising opportunities. At least that’s what they should do.
The documentary series Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, now streaming on Netflix, traces the formation of management company 7M Films by founder, Robert Shinn, who is also pastor of the Shekinah church. Over the course of three episodes, Dancing for the Devil reveals claims from several former 7M members about how Shinn abused and manipulated them and created a cult-like environment.
The series focuses primarily on the stories of two different pairs of sisters who worked with Shinn – influencers Melanie Wilking and Miranda Derrick (formerly Wilking) and Melanie and Priscylla Lee. The Lee sisters met Shinn after joining his Shekinah church in 1999, like young Korean immigrants. They integrated into the church community and began living in a house with other church members. Melanie Lee eventually escaped the house and left the church, trying to bring her sister with her, but Priscylla refused to leave – causing them to be separated for a decade.
Shinn founded 7M in 2021 and the lines between his church and the talent management company have always been blurred. Melanie Wilking and her parents first brought attention to the dark side of 7M in a 40-minute Instagram Live in 2022, in which they tried to contact Miranda, saying they hadn’t been in touch with her in years. The family shares in tears Dancing for the Devil that Miranda she joined a “religious organization” at the end of 2019 and was told to exclude it from her life.
Dancing for the Devil explores how Shinn used his influence as a pastor to form a dance management company TikTok. The series also shows how Wilking’s Instagram Live became the catalyst for several publications to investigate 7M, giving former members and their families the chance to share their stories.
Here’s everything you need to know about Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult.
How Robert Shinn went from Shekinah Church to 7M Films
Robert Shinn’s Los Angeles-based Shekinah Church started small, Melanie Lee explains in the series. “There were maybe 15 people, and that included his family and his sister Catherine’s family,” she says. She adds that Robert and Catherine “promised” her and Priscylla all the love that the two “never really experienced.” Over the years, Shinn has opened several businesses, including a cafe, two mortgage companies, two real estate agencies and two flower shops. Lee says in the documentary that the employees of these companies were made up of members of the Shekinah church. She says employees were paid very little (she was paid $100 a week) and worked 12-hour shifts.
Shinn’s interests changed after a failed attempt as a Hollywood executive producer – and he founded the management company 7M Films and found the dancers, including Miranda, on social media. He saw them as a new source of revenue.
Through 7M, Shinn arranged for dancers in his management company to have opportunities such as commercials, bookings in Ellen’s Showand dancing at Los Angeles Clippers games. He still led the Shekinah congregation, which included many of his clients, whom he bragged about during his sermons. Dancing for the Devil details how the influencers on his list sought Shinn’s approval, proving they would do anything to get his attention.
The series also details Shinn’s controversial practices as a leader. Former members accused him of sexual, emotional and financial abuse. Shinn, 7M and Shekinah Church did not participate in the documentary series. He denied sexually abusing company or church members.
Why 7 million members had to separate their families
One of Shinn’s most controversial practices was telling his followers that they needed to “die” to themselves and their families. A former 7M dancer explains the concept in the first episode: “Dying to yourself means that whatever you want or need, you have to ‘die to it,’ because whenever you die to something, it will come back to life and resurrect.”
Another former 7M dancer adds that they were taught to “die to your family to save them,” referring to the chance to “one day go to heaven.”
We see this “dying to your family” happening with the Wilking sisters. In the series, Melanie Wilking explains that she and her sister were inseparable until Miranda joined 7M, even getting married without telling her family.
Miranda is now in touch with her family after Shinn changed his tune in July 2022 following the departure of several 7M dancers from the company. He suggested that it would be better for 7 million believers to be in contact with their families.
Where Robert Shinn and 7M Are Now
Shinn, who has previously denied the allegations made against him, has not faced any formal criminal charges related to 7M. The company continues to produce content with Miranda and her husband.
According to CNN, Shinn filed a libel and commercial libel lawsuit against former church members who claimed he runs a “cult.” Three of the former 7M dancers joined “a cross-complaint with former church members against Shinn, his wife, their entities and other affiliated individuals.” In the lawsuit, they accuse the defendants of “fraud, forced labor and human trafficking, as well as Robert of sexual assault.” This process is ongoing and is expected to be judged in July 2025.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
