They haven't seen her in a year.
By Amanda Hartmann — Written on Mar 11, 2022
The family of a successful TikTok dancer reached out on to fans on Instagram in a viral video where they claimed their daughter had become indoctrinated into a cult in Los Angeles.
Miranda Derrick is a TikTok dancer living in Los Angeles who currently has over 700,000 followers.
Recently, she has been the subject of many worried TikToks by users who have seen her parents and sister’s video addressing their fears that she has become “brainwashed” by a LA-based religious cult.
It is suspected that Derrick's management agency — which also works with several other high-profile social media stars — is linked to a religious organization called the Shekinah church.
What is the Shekinah church?
The Shekinah church desrcibes itself as a "racially and culturally diverse gathering of hope-filled believers" but has been accused of being a cult.
The church operates an "Immersion School Of Equipping" that asks followers to give money to "help to fund the training, equipping and releasing of God's ministers through Shekinah Church."
Over a year ago, Miranda joined the 7M Films management company, which is where her family believes the trouble began.
7M Management is believed to be linked to the Shekinah Church.
According to Gawker, 7M Films is an arm of the Shekinah Church that are based on a particular verse, Isaiah 2:2, known as the Seven Mountain Mandate.
Gawker reports that followers of this mandate believe it is their duty to enter the key facets of life — education, religion, family, business, government, and media — and rid those institutions of demons and witchcraft.
These supposed beliefs, along with the mystery of Miranda Derrick’s disappearance, have caused many rumors to circulate across the internet alleging that the company is a cult.
While nothing is confirmed, and both 7M Films and the Shekinah Church deny such allegations, Miranda’s family and many of their social media followers have become concerned.
They worry that Miranda Derrick has been in a isolated, potentially brainwashing environment more than a year now.
Miranda Derrick’s family pleaded to Instagram about the situation, saying they “live in fear.”
According to the near-30-minute Instagram video they uploaded to her sister Melanie Wilking’s account, Miranda cut off contact with her family in January of 2021 after she said she wouldn’t be coming home to their grandfather’s funeral, something her family stressed was very unlike her.
Throughout the video, they stress their strong bond as a family, and how unlike Miranda it is to cut them all off without warning, believing this supports their claims of a third party brainwashing her.
Melanie spoke to her sister in the video, teary eyed, saying, “You don’t need to cut us off. Life is going on and there are so many exciting things going on.”
And Miranda’s mother worried over her safety, stating that they have no way of knowing if she is safe or not.
The family adds that while they have tried to contact police about the situation, due to the protection of religious organizations as well as everyone known to be involved being consenting adults, there is nothing they can do about the situation.
Miranda Derrick, meanwhile, has a very different story.
While she may not have been speaking to her family, she was not quiet on social media when they put out these allegations.
Soon after her family uploaded their video expressing their worries, she shared her side of the story over TikTok.
According to Miranda, cutting her family off was not due to a cult that was exerting control over her life, but due to her family’s feelings about her then-boyfriend, now-husband, James Derrick.
She stated, “they didn’t respect a decision I made to move in with James and start our life together,” continuing to add that she began distancing herself after this disagreement.
Then, she claims, “When I left, they decided to call the cops on James. Saying that my Black boyfriend James kidnapped me and abused me.”
She also makes a point to dismiss cult rumors, saying that other dancers in 7M Films are still in touch with their families, claiming it is a personal choice for her to distance herself from hers.
Recently, the rumors have pushed Miranda and her family back together to discuss.
Now, it seems that Miranda Derrick or possibly a friend of hers has created a secondary Instagram account to “address the lies” on.
The only video so far is a recording of an Instagram live, showing her and her parents together in Michigan, as proof that they have now spoken in person.
Miranda, visibly angry as she admits in the caption, says, “Since they wanted to make our lives public, we’re gonna go live.”
When she asks her parents for a comment, her father says, “I love you Miranda, and I miss you.”
In the caption, she explains the meeting further, stating, “Not that it’s anyone’s business but my parents and I had a 3 hour conversation today about our PRIVATE family issues and I’m going to leave that there unless I’m forced to talk about it.”
She condemns the rumors in the caption as well, claiming many are being spread under the guise of “concern,” meanwhile thanking those who have been supportive.
Amanda Hartmann is a writer and editorial intern at YourTango who writes on news and entertainment.