Netflix's latest true-crime docuseries, Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, chronicles one of the wildest stories to ever emerge from social media. In 2022, an Instagram Live from dancer Melanie Wilking and her parents went viral as they claimed that they had lost contact with Melanie's sister Miranda Wilking and that she was "no longer in control of her life" after joining a "cult." Two years, several investigations, and a major lawsuit later, the new docuseries lays out the full history of pastor and entrepreneur Robert Shinn, who has allegedly sexually and financially abused and exploited dozens of people through his Santa Ana-based Shekinah Church and his management company 7M Films.
In the three-episode series directed by Derek Doneen, several former 7M and Shekinah Church members share their harrowing experiences with the Shinn and his family's organizations. Since the docuseries was filmed, several dancers and former members have made massive strides in their careers, while concurrently fighting for justice in the legal system. Unfortunately, others in the saga have yet to completely part ways with the alleged abuser. Read on to see where the subjects of the cult documentary Dancing for the Devil are today, including a brief rundown of the ongoing court case against Shinn.
Miranda Derrick (née Wilking)
Miranda Derrick, 27, moved from suburban Michigan to L.A. after high school, to become a professional dancer. She was followed by her younger sister Melanie a year later, and the two found fame on social media, where they shared their dance routines and lifestyle content; their joint TikTok, the Wilking Sisters, amassed over 3 million followers. In 2019, she met James "BDash" Derrick through Instagram and began dating. By August 2021, the two were engaged, with James proposing mid-dance in a shared video.
In 2020, the couple began working with 7M Films, a management and content creation company run by Robert Shinn, who also founded the LA-area Shekinah Church. Per the Netflix doc, Miranda and BDash became members of both the agency and church, even moving into a property owned by Shinn.
Her sister Melanie, meanwhile, expressed how uncomfortable she was with the control Shinn had over the dancers. Per the Wilking family, Miranda began distancing herself from the family in early 2021, even refusing to travel back to Michigan for her grandfather's funeral. The family claims that they lost nearly all contact with Miranda following the incident, and did not see her again until they approached her at a public dance event that December.
In early 2022, Melanie and the sisters' parents did a livestream that quickly went viral, in which they alleged that Miranda was in a "cult" that was controlling her interactions with her family. Miranda has consistently denied the allegations. In a May 2022 statement to The Cut, she said, "I am not held against my will and I've never been a hostage. I go to church and I have faith in God. If one day I wish to pursue my faith elsewhere, I will and feel completely free to do that. As far as my career, my time at 7M Films has been one of the most exciting years ever and if one day I wish to partner with a different management company or start my own company, I will. No one is forcing me to do anything. I am excited to move forward in this incredible walk with God, an amazing marriage and exciting career. I’m also looking forward to moving past all of this and mend my relationship with my family privately."
As of the docuseries' late May 2024 release, Miranda and James Derrick still work with 7M Films and have credited Robert Shinn's son Isaiah for filming several videos. Professionally, the couple has most recently appeared as dancers in Prime Video's 2024 action film Road House, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Miranda and BDash also got married; it is unknown when the wedding was, but Miranda recently shared wedding pictures on Instagram in April 2024.
Miranda is also now in contact with her family and has shared videos spending time with them on social media. However, as of the doc's filming, Melanie claimed that their interactions seemed "superficial" and shared her apprehension that Miranda may have reopened communication only to save face publicly. It's unknown whether Miranda ended up being a bridesmaid in Melanie's wedding after Melanie also shared her reluctance to involve her sister in more of the ceremony.
Melanie Wilking
Melanie Wilking, 25, is the woman who brought 7M Films to the public's attention, when the TikTok of herself and her parents explaining their estrangement from Miranda went viral. She's also a main character of the documentary, with herself and the elder Wilkings opening up about their experience and everything they discovered about the alleged cult. The estrangement especially weighed on Melanie, since she and her sister used to live and work together. They also planned to be the maid-of-honor at each other's weddings, but she claims she wasn't even told about Miranda's marriage until after it happened.
Since the events of Dancing for the Devil, Melanie has remained active on Instagram and TikTok, where over 3.7 million cumulative followers can watch her lifestyle and dancing content. Her parents have also appeared in sweet clips where she teaches them short routines. Melanie also has a lot to celebrate this month, as she recently married her fiancé, NFL player Austin Ekeler. Per PEOPLE, she and Ekeler are based in Las Vegas and Virginia, where Ekeler plays for the Washington Commanders. (Per Miranda's Instagram, she attended the wedding.)
James "BDash" Derrick
James "BDash" Derrick is a krump dancer and influencer who previously competed on shows, including World of Dance and So You Think You Can Dance. He met his wife Miranda Derrick when he slid into her DMs to collaborate on a video. The pair eventually joined 7M Films and Shekinah Church after being connected to Robert Shinn through his son Isaiah, who works with BDash as a choreographer. They got engaged in August 2021 and were married sometime later. In the Wilking family's viral February 2022 clip, they said that they believed BDash was a victim of the alleged cult's manipulation as well as Miranda.
As of the docuseries' release, BDash and Miranda still work with 7M Films, and their respective Instagrams are mostly filled with content of them dancing together.
Kevin “Konkrete” Davis
Kevin "Konkrete" Davis is an Oakland-born krump dancer and musician who has appeared in dance competition TV series, such as America's Best Dance Crew, So You Think You Can Dance, and World of Dance. Before the events of the documentary, he was best known for competing on World of Dance as part of a duo with BDash, who introduced him to Isaiah Shinn and eventually Isaiah's father Robert. In the Netflix doc, Davis claims that most of the money he earned at the time went to 7M and Robert Shinn, with the company allegedly collecting substantial fees and rent and the dancers relying on "mentors" who permitted them to make purchases.
Per the doc, after several outlets published investigations in the wake of the Wilkings' viral livestream, Davis reached a turning point when Shinn attempted to get the dancers to sign NDAs. He and his then-girlfriend Kailea Gray left 7M soon after and, in March 2023, Rolling Stone reported that he had joined a lawsuit against Shinn, 7M, and Shekinah, accusing Shinn of running a "cult" that "required full physical and economic and control [sic] over Shekinah members."
Recently, Davis has danced in several major performances, including Ryan Gosling's "I'm Just Ken" performance at the 2024 Oscars and all 56 nights of Beyoncé's Renaissance Tour. He has released music and regularly appears at dance boot camps and events, including a recent event where he collaborated with BDash again. He lives with his now-wife Gray and their children.
Kailea Gray
Kaliea Gray is a videographer and photographer who appeared in the Netflix doc to share her experience as a former member of 7M. She joined the alleged cult around the same time her then-boyfriend, now-husband Davis, then left alongside him once the investigations into the church began going viral. She now works as a content creator and frequently collaborates with Davis and other dancers, while the couple raises their family.
Aubrey Fisher
Aubrey Fisher is a dancer, actor, and musician. He was introduced to Isaiah Shinn through his friend and frequent collaborator BDash. In the doc, Fisher shares that he was raised in a religious home and considered rejoining a church community when he met Robert Shinn and began attending the pastor's bible study, which often lasted over three hours. When the elder Shinn founded 7M, Fisher joined the management company to access new opportunities, such as brand deals.
As the documentary states, after the investigations into Shinn and 7M came out in 2022, Fisher was part of the group of dancers (including Davis, Gray, and Fisher's then-girlfriend Kylie Douglas) who began comparing notes and realizing they may be in an alleged cult. He soon left the company, and in 2023, he and Douglas joined the lawsuit against Shinn, alongside Davis.
Today, Aubrey regularly releases music and dance content on Instagram and TikTok, while participating in live events.
Kylie Douglas
Kylie Douglas is a Detroit-born dancer, choreographer, and coach who eventually joined 7M after being introduced to 7M through her then-boyfriend, Aubrey Fisher. In the doc, she describes herself as having been "hungry to get invited to everything" when she joined the company, though the only members she knew were Fisher and Miranda Wilking. Douglas claims she was urged to cut off contact with her family after joining 7M. She also recalled an incident where Robert Shinn offered to crack her back and allegedly groped her. Though she thought that Shinn had no ill intention toward her, she recalls seeing the incident differently once the investigations into the pastor came out. She left 7M soon and began speaking out to raise awareness about the alleged cult, and she also filed a police report of sexual assault against Shinn.
Douglas is currently the director of The VoltZ Dance Company, which she founded in 2019. As the head of VoltZ, she trains and coaches junior and teen dancers who compete in the Hip Hop International organization's tournaments; one of the dance teams also participated in the non-televised World of Dance competition in 2023. Aside from being a coach, Douglas regularly shares her own dance content on Instagram and TikTok.
RainO
Nick Raiano, best known by the moniker RainO, was one of the first dancers to join 7M. His parents Lawrence and Migdalia Raiano, who participated in Dancing for the Devil, claim that Shinn initially made RainO distance himself from his family. Per the doc, the dancer eventually reconnected with his family, but they believe the messages he sends to them are "written by another church member."
As of the docuseries' release, Raino has deleted his Instagram and TikTok accounts, though his YouTube account is still live. RainO continues to work with 7M Films and has collaborated with Miranda, James, and Vik White in recent uploads.
Vik White
Vik White, a.k.a. Slavik Pustovoytov, is a Ukraine-born dancer who competed on season 15 of So You Think You Can Dance, and placed 4th as a finalist. White joined 7M after the company's founding and is frequently seen in clips from Dancing for the Devil. While he has not spoken out on the documentary, per his Instagram, White still collaborates with Isaiah Shinn and 7M dancers, including BDash and Miranda Wilking.
White currently has 11.9 followers across Instagram and TikTok, where he primarily posts dance content. He also recently had a breakout role as a member of August Moon, in the hit 2024 Prime Video rom-com The Idea of You.
Melanie Lee and Priscylla Lee
Melanie and Priscylla Lee are former members of Shekinah Church, who joined the alleged cult in 2001, as young women who had recently moved to the U.S. from South Korea. In the docuseries, Melanie recalls her history with Robert Shinn, describing Shekinah as a community that initially felt welcoming and eventually devolved into an environment where Shinn exercised complete control. The sisters claim that Shinn forced them and the other church members to work in several businesses he owned for little to no pay, dictated where they would live within houses he owned, and cultivated an environment where church members would monitor each other and relay any transgressions to Shinn. Per Melanie, she escaped the church after Shinn informed her that she would have to marry someone within the church. At the time, Priscylla refused to leave out of fear, so Melanie left alone.
Priscylla claims that Shinn eventually began assaulting her repeatedly, as he had unrestricted access to her room. In the doc, she describes falling into depression during the years of alleged abuse, and feeling as if she was trapped in a dark room with no way out. She also claims that Robert Shinn's wife Hannah once physically attacked her while Robert stood by. Per Priscylla, she eventually decided that even if leaving the church would condemn her to Hell, as Robert claimed it would, she would rather be damned than stay in the alleged cult. Priscylla finally left Shekinah in 2021, after 23 years.
In the 11 years since she left Shekinah, Melanie, who now goes by Melanie Lee Goldman, rebuilt her life and eventually founded a full-service real-estate advisory agency. She currently serves as CEO of her company, and lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter, while also expecting a second child.
Meanwhile, Priscylla shares in the doc that she has spent several years rebuilding her life and adjusting to the world after spending so many years under Shinn's alleged control.
As seen in the doc (and mentioned above), Priscylla and Melanie are currently in litigation against Shinn, along with the former 7M members. Per CNN and Rolling Stone, the sisters and several of the dancers are among the co-defendants who filed a cross-complaint against Shinn, after the alleged cult leader sued several former Shekinah members, including the Lee sisters, for defamation and trade libel. In the cross-complaint, the Lees and the dancers accuse the Shinn family and other affiliated individuals of fraud, forced labor, and human trafficking, as well as directly accusing Robert Shinn of sexual battery. Shinn and 7M did not respond to the lawsuit when it was filed. However, in 2022, 7M Films posted a statement to the company's Instagram account denying any business affiliation between 7M and the Shekinah Church.
According to CNN, the civil case is scheduled to go to trial in July 2025 in Los Angeles. No criminal charges have been filed against Shinn, despite Priscylla and Douglas' police reports.
