‘Dancing for the Devil’ Is the ‘TikTok Cult’ Doc You Have to See to Believe – CNET [CNET]

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Netflix’s new docuseries puts 7M Films management company in the spotlight.

Aaron Pruner is a writer at CNET. He covers what’s exciting and new in the world of home entertainment and streaming TV. Previously, he wrote about entertainment for places like Rotten Tomatoes, Inverse, TheWrap, and The Hollywood Reporter. Aaron is also an actor and stay-at-home dad, which means coffee is his friend.

Miranda Derrick and Melanie Wilking grew up with a shared passion for dance. When TikTok hit the mainstream, the duo (better known as the Wilking Sisters) found a lucrative avenue to share their skills — millions of followers and brand deals followed. That all changed in 2019 when Derrick began spending time with a group of like-minded dancers in Los Angeles, joined 7M Films, their management company, and began following the religious teachings of the company’s owner and church pastor, Robert Shinn.

Under his influence, Derrick cut ties with her family to pursue a life of success, prompting her loved ones to suspect foul play.

Netflix’s new three-part docuseries, Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, takes a closer look at Derrick’s journey from small town dancer to social media superstar and digs into the allegations against Shinn, his management firm and Shekinah Church, which Shinn runs.

Read more: TikTok Is Changing the Way You Discover Music. Meet the Young Creators Making It Happen

Release date for Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult on Netflix

The three-episode series will premiere all at once on Wednesday, May 29, at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT on Netflix. Talk about a quick binge.

What is Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult about?

Similar to the recent docuseries that explored the inner-workings of groups like NXIVM and Scientology, Dancing for the Devil digs into the alleged cult activity associated with 7M Films and Shekinah Church — the interlinked companies that manage a group of up-and-coming dancers on TikTok. 

Attention toward Shinn, his management company and church kicked up in 2022 when Wilking and her parents posted a video on Instagram Live about their personal family matters. After their lawsuit against Shekinah and 7M failed, they resorted to going public and accused 7M and Shekinah Church of being a cult. In the video, the family claimed they “aren’t allowed to contact” Derrick, that she blocked them on all social media and further alleged other dancers in her crew who could have been under Shinn’s influence. 

This isn’t the first time allegations have been filed against Shinn. The connection between 7M Films and Shekinah Church was previously questioned by The Daily Beast, which stated that the church had a “bare bones presence online.” 

The Wilking family’s social media post sparked a domino effect that led to the exit of three dancers from Shekinah and 7M, with the trio joining a new lawsuit against Shinn, claiming abuses of power and cult-like behavior. 

According to Rolling Stone, the dancers — Aubrey Fisher-Greene, Kylie Douglas and Kevin “Konkrete” Davis — added to the cross-complaint submitted to court in early 2023, stating: “Robert refers to himself as ‘the Man of God’ and preaches to Shekinah members and that [sic] without submitting to him and without Shekinah, their lives will be cursed. Robert required full physical and economic and control [sic] over Shekinah members.”

Like previous documentaries of a similar ilk, Dancing for the Devil explores how alleged cults can attract people and the ways groups such as these maintain control over their members.

“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,” Derek Doneen, the director of Dancing for the Devil, revealed to Tudum. “I’m in awe of the families who let us in as they worked tirelessly to rescue their loved ones.”

The TikTok Cult doc looks at Shekinah Church’s history 

Shekinah Church opened its doors in 1991. According to a court case filed back in 2009, Shinn’s alleged behavior and accusations against him and the church can be traced back decades.

The Cut reported that Lydia Chung, a former Shekinah member, made a formal complaint against the pastor for “exerting undue influence, mind control, coercive persuasion, oppression and other intimidating tactics including taking over her email, passwords, and bank accounts, in an effort to get her to turn over millions of dollars that Chung says were used by Shinn and his family to pay for entertainment, living expenses, medical bills and Shinn’s girlfriend’s law school tuition.” 

Dancing for the Devil digs into the church’s history and these past allegations, and connects them with Shekinah’s present-day position. Like Chung, the dancers suing 7M claim Shinn used control tactics to siphon money to feed his extravagant lifestyle. 

There’s been plenty of speculation about Shinn’s alleged deeds over the years, but solid details about 7M, Shekinah and the TikTok dancers he’s affiliated with, have remained slim. Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult aims to shed some much needed light on the topic.

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