Dancer and influencer Miranda Derrick takes center stage in a new Netflix docuseries, “Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult.”
While Derrick herself did not participate in the documentary, much of the three-part docuseries focuses on her family’s desire to extricate her from what they say is a manipulative cult.
Miranda and James Derrick are part of 7M Films, a TikTok talent management company that is run by Robert Shinn, who also founded the Shekinah Church.
A civil lawsuit filed in 2023 by former church and 7M members alleges that the Shekinah Church “is a cult” that has subjected people to "brainwashing, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, manipulation, and exploitation.”
The filing was part of an ongoing lawsuit that began when Shinn sued former members of his church and moderators of social media accounts that were posting about him and Shekinah Church in October 2022, according tocourtdocuments reviewed byTODAY.com. They denied allegations and filed the 2023 counterclaim.
After her family went public with the situation in a February 2022 Instagram video, Miranda Derrick denied that she and her husband James, who also goes by BDash, are involved in a cult.
“Miranda Derrick is a successful businesswoman and a loving wife and daughter who cares very much about her family,” a representative speaking on behalf of the couple, as well as 7M and Shinn, said in a statement provided to Daily Beast in 2022.
“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,” the statement continued.
Miranda and James Derrick have not appeared to address the recent Netflix documentary on social media, and they have continued posting videos of themselves performing dance routines together, which they have done regularly for years.
Miranda Derrick has opened up in the past about how much she enjoys collaborating with her husband.
“Yes, it’s a dream that we get to be a married couple and work in the same industry and work so well together and just love to create together,” she said in a 2022 Instagram video.
Read on to learn more about what Miranda and James Derrick have shared about their relationship.
How did James and Miranda Derrick meet?
Miranda and James Derrick met when he reached out to her on Instagram and asked if they could collaborate on a video, the couple shared.
“I slid right in those DMs,” James Derrick said in an Instagram video the couple filmed about their relationship in March 2022.
“And then we did a video and then yeah, the rest is history, been together ever since,” Miranda chimed in.
In the Netflix documentary, Miranda Derrick's sister Melanie Wilking said James Derrick originally reached out to both of them with an invitation to collaborate, but that sparks soon flew between James Derrick and her sister.
“We were in a group chat, us three, and then I got removed and it was just them two talking to each other," Wilking recalled with a laugh. "And I was like, ‘Miranda, he likes you.’ And then they started to date.”
James Derrick began appearing on his future wife’s Instagram feed as early as April 2021.
In their 2022 video, the couple also revealed that James Derrick said “I love you” first.
“It was me. I stopped being nervous and I was like, you know what, I’m risking it all,” he recalled.
James Derrick soon bonded with Miranda Derrick's family, the dancer's parents shared in the recent Netflix documentary.
Miranda’s mother, Kelly Wilking, said she liked James “a lot,” but over time grew concerned about his and her daughter’s involvement with the Shekinah Church.
“James and Miranda were going to the pastor’s house for all these dinners ... and I said to James, 'Something doesn’t feel right,'" she said.
"I go, ‘What’s up with all these dinners?’ and he’s like, ‘Oh nothing, they’re just really nice people," she continued. "And I go, ‘Just be careful, because I don’t feel that’s the case. I think they want something from you.”
In a February 2022 Instagram video outlining their concerns about the church, Melanie Wilking said they believe James Derrick, like their daughter, is a victim of the alleged cult's manipulation.
When did James and Miranda Derrick get engaged?
The couple shared the news of their engagement on Instagram on Aug. 9, 2021.
They were already known for their dance collaborations on Instagram, so it was only fitting that James Derrick surprised Miranda Derrick with a ring in the middle of a dance routine set to Michael Bublé’s rendition of “Fly Me to the Moon.”
“WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! 💍 You thought it was going to be just a dance video? So did I! Best surprise ever 😍🥺♥️I love you so much,” Miranda wrote on Instagram, sharing a video of the special moment.
They also each reflected on their engagement in separate Instagram posts.
“She said YES!!!💍” James Derrick wrote on Instagram. “@mirandawilking I love you so much and I’m so honored to be on this journey with you. I remember the first time you hugged me. The best way to describe it is magical (it sounds cliché) but truly in that moment I knew you were the love of my life and you would be my wife one day.”
He also wrote, “I am so thankful God brought us together and I can’t wait for what’s next for us. Miranda, I love you so much and will cherish you for the rest of my life.”
Miranda Derrick also wrote on Instagram that she was “overwhelmed with joy” at their engagement.
“James, you are more than anything I’ve ever dreamed of and I am so incredibly excited that we get to spend our lives together,” she wrote. “I remember the first day we met, I fell in love with you and just could not picture spending any of my days without you. It’s as if our love story was already written into the fabric of my life."
She also called her fiancé “my best friend, my confidant, my teammate and partner.”
“You have continually proven to be such an incredible man inside and out and I love you so much. I am looking forward to watching our journey continue to unfold,” she added.
When did they get married?
James and Miranda Derrick have not publicly revealed when they tied the knot, though they have seemingly hinted at it on social media.
In September 2021, Miranda Derrick shared an Instagram video of her and her now-husband wearing wedding-style clothing and dancing to the Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love.”
“What happens in Vegas…🤍✨,” she wrote in the caption, leading some followers to speculate that they were subtly revealing they had exchanged vows.
However, other fans thought James Derrick might be alluding to their wedding in a February 2022 TikTok video showing him and Miranda dancing to the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from the 2021 movie “Encanto.”
“It was our wedding day!” he wrote in the caption.
This was a lyric from “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” but some wondered if he was hinting at something more.
Then, in April 2024, the couple shared throwback photos from what appeared to be their wedding day, or at least a wedding photo shoot.
“I found you & it’s a good thing✨💍,” Miranda wrote in the caption.
