Netflix
Dancing for the Devil’s Robert Shinn Was Investigated by the Cops Twice, Cases Closed With No Charges
Robert Shinn, the alleged cult leader featured in Netflix’s Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, was the focus of two previous sexual battery cases, but neither case resulted in any criminal charges being filed.
Two cases were filed against Shinn, 87, in Los Angeles, according to TMZ, including one by Kylie Douglas, a former 7M member. Both were rejected and no charges were brought due to “insufficient evidence and a significant delay in reporting.”
The docuseries focuses on Shinn’s entertainment management business, 7M, that allegedly lured popular social media influencers into allowing the company to represent them. Shinn also served as the pastor of Shekinah Church, where he allegedly preached bizarre end times beliefs.
Several TikTok dancers signed with 7M but it was Miranda Derrick’s sister, Melanie Ekeler, and their parents who first sounded the alarm around Shinn’s allegedly shady practices. Derrick’s family claimed that after signing with the talent management group and joining Shinn’s church, Derrick cut off all ties and communication with them. Other former clients from 7M claimed that Shinn required them to give him a portion of the income they made, as well.
However, Derrick, 27, denied that she was being coerced by Shinn in any way.
“I want to start by saying that I appreciate the concern that has been expressed for my well-being. Due to pending litigation, in which I am a plaintiff in a defamation lawsuit, it’s not appropriate for me to comment on specific allegations. Though I will state that I do not condone abuse in any way,” the dancer wrote in a lengthy statement she posted to her Instagram Story on June 4.
Derrick continued, “I love my Mom, Dad and Melanie and they will forever be a part of my life. The truth is, we just don’t see eye to eye at this time. I believe that this documentary is a one-sided story. I gave my life to Jesus Christ in 2020 and asked my family for some space in the very beginning to collect my thoughts and my new walk I wanted to take with God.”
“My family didn’t honor the space I asked for and I saw a different side of them I’ve never seen before,” Derrick wrote. “Honestly, it made me mad, frustrated and annoyed that they were being so overbearing and chaotic.”
While the TikTok star said that she had been attempting to “get together” with her family more over the past several months, the Netflix documentary “created a further challenge.”
Derrick concluded her statement by saying, “No one likes to be portrayed as their [sic] brainwashed/not in control of her own life/shell of herself/human trafficked daughter/sister when that just isn’t the truth. I would have preferred that my family’s circumstances remain private. I’m forced and feel like I have no other choice but to defend myself because of all of this. I can’t convince anything to believe anything. I am just a woman trying to live my life. I am not a victim, I am not in any harm, I am not being abused.”
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