An entertainment company accused of being a cult and accused of keeping a family’s TikTok star daughter from them, is calling the allegations ‘pathetic’ and only for clout.
The family of TikTok star Miranda Derrick say their daughter has been taken abducted by LA entertainment company 7M Films and Shekinah Church – which they have branded a cult – and are both run by pastor Robert Shinn, 63.
Melanie Wilking and her parents, Kelly and Dean Wilking, say that they have not been able to speak to Miranda since January 2021 after she refused to go to her grandfather’s funeral in a now-viral Instagram video.
They said that Miranda, 24, left last year to join the company, which is run by Shinn – the pastor of Shekinah Church, which they claim is connected to a bizarre sect of Christianity known as the Seven Mountain Mandate, according to Gawker.
But a representative for 7M films and Shinn attacked the family for the cult allegations, branding them ‘pathetic’ in a strongly worded statement.
‘The false and sensational allegations about 7M stem directly from a dispute between 7M-represented dancer Miranda Derrick and her estranged family,’ a representative told DailyMail.com.
‘Despite her family’s claims, Miranda is a successful businesswoman and a loving wife and daughter who cares very much about her family. It is pathetic and contemptible to try to turn her private family matters into a tawdry public scandal for clicks and clout.’
The rep for 7M also told DailyMail.com that there is zero connection between 7M Films and the Seven Mountain Mandate and that the company neither believes in nor promotes the mandate.
When asked if DailyMail.com could interview Miranda and James Derrick, the spokesperson responded: ‘I don’t know of any plans for Miranda and James to do an interview, but I will pass along your request.’
Melanie Wilking and her parents, Kelly and Dean Wilking, say that they have not been able to speak to Miranda since January 2021 after she refused to go to her grandfather’s funeral in a now viral Instagram video
TikTok star Miranda Derrick, 24, is believed by her family to have been taken in by a religious cult
Miranda, seen here walking the red carpet with her now-husband and fellow 7M Films client James Derrick
The Wilkings have long believed the company targets dancers like Miranda.
‘They are not in control of their lives – someone else is controlling their lives and they’re all victims of this,’ the Wilkings said of 7M’s clients.
‘It’s been haunting us for over a year now,’ Melanie said on the video, which they dated February 24. ‘It’s definitely been the hardest year of my life.’
‘You don’t need to cut us off. Life is going on and there are so many exciting things going on,’ Melanie added.
Melanie also said that she was recruited by the church alongside Miranda but not welcomed back after missing a service.
The Seven Mountain Mandate comes from a reading of Bible verse Isaiah 2:2, from which ‘a group of self-proclaimed ‘apostles’ have a plan rooted in biblical prophecy to ‘invade’ every sphere of life as we know it.’
Followers of the mandate focus on education, religion, family, business, government, entertainment, and media; they argue they must rid those institutions of demons and witchcraft.
The principles are followed by several Christians, including prominent Trump-affiliated pastor Paula White.
Shekinah Pastor Robert Israel Shinn – whose son Isaiah is a director and choreographer for 7M – is accused of teaching a belief that involves prepping for the apocalypse and owns several companies, including a production group that made a film starring Meghan Markle.
The church’s website says: ‘We are called to aggressively train God’s people to develop the fruit of the Spirit, which are divine characteristics of God Himself, so that they may really meet God in the deepest way.’
Shinn has been sued in the past by former member Lydia Chung, who in 2009 claimed that Shinn had taken her from her family, brainwashed her and defrauded her out of almost $4million, allegedly sent straight to Shinn through church which does not pay taxes.
A judge ruled in Shinn’s favor in May 2011, but Chung remains insistent that Shinn is running something sinister .
‘This is a cult,’ she said. ‘This totally ruins people. You hear about the people who went to Vietnam – going through such a trauma, many people cannot function as a normal human being – this is what it does.’
‘While the recent portrayals of Dr. Robert Shinn and 7M Films have been wildly offensive and riddled with inaccuracies, those false claims will not deter 7M from supporting Miranda in whichever endeavors she chooses to pursue next,’ they added.
Pastor Paula White, an advisor to the Trump White House, is a believer in the Seven Mountain Mandate
Melanie, Miranda’s sister, used a TikTok video of Miranda to spread the word about what she believes happened.
In the video, Melanie claims Miranda has ‘no control over her social media’ and that the church has control over Miranda’s finances.
Both Miranda and her now-husband James Derrick responded to the allegations on Instagram, with Miranda saying that Melanie kicked her out of their shared TikTok account and stopped speaking to her family because she said they called the cops once on James, who is black, when she moved in with him.
‘I can speak for James and our friends who are in 7M that they DO speak to their families (so what you guys have heard about 7M dancers not speaking to their families is a complete lie). It’s just a unique situation with my family,’ she wrote.
James has also personally argued in his own posts that the family doesn’t like him because he’s a ‘black man from Compton’ who is divorced with a son, had no car and was living in a rented room.
Miranda Derrick seen in a video with her now-husband James, both of whom claim Miranda’s family doesn’t approve of
James and Miranda have both alleged that Miranda’s family dislikes him because he is black, though the family denies it and points out that Miranda’s sister is also dating a black man
He credits 7M with leading to his own personal success ‘in a matter of months’ and argues it’s not a church but a ‘secular for-profit company run by people who have faith in God.’
The family has refuted any claims of disliking James for reasons of race, noting that Miranda’s sister Melanie is herself dating a black man.
The Michigan-born Wilkings sisters started their online dancing careers as a duo.
The two sisters posted videos of the latest TikTok trends and gained more than 3 million followers after shooting to social media stardom in 2020.
Meanwhile, Samantha Long – a friend of James Derrick and a dancer herself – said in an Instagram video that his behavior changed after joining 7M.
‘The tone he was speaking in really concerned me and I could tell that something was really off,’ Long said.