Ex-7M Dancer Kylie Douglas’ Message to Miranda Derrick & Others in Group (Exclusive)

The new Netflix documentary “Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult” follows a talented group of TikTok dancers whose families claim they are part of a cult.

Miranda Derrick is one of those dancers, and her parents and sister Melanie have spoken out online and in the docuseries about how they were cut off from Miranda, who they believe has been manipulated by the alleged cult leader, Robert Shinn.

Derrick, however, has since spoken out, saying the doc was "one-sided" and that insisting she's not a victim and doesn't need help. Miranda also claims she and her husband James "BDash" Derrick have been harassed and threatened since the docuseries came out and are in danger because of it.

“Extra” spoke with Kylie Douglas, one of the TikTok dancers with millions of followers who began shooting content with the son of religious leader Robert Shinn. She and others joined his church, and Robert said he could make them rich if they worked for his 7M management company.

Kylie said of Miranda, “I know where she’s coming from. She’s so involved with the group, she’s not able to see the clear message of this documentary. So, I understand where she’s coming from, but it’s also not easy to read that when we have a team full of people, her family, all these supporters who are really invested in trying to help them. Her statement seemed one-sided as well, kind of. Everyone was asked to participate in the documentary. The other sides were asked to be told, and it was declined.”

Former members of 7M say control over their careers became total control over their lives.

In the series, Kylie and other dancers explain being taught the concept of "dying to yourself." They say they were told that they had to "die" to everything they wanted or needed in order to "follow your walk with God." They claim they were even told they had "die" to their loved ones, leaving their families behind while they focused on themselves and following God.

Kylie recalled how she initially joined the group, “It was my ex-boyfriend. He was starting to go to Bible study meetings and dinners at the pastor’s house, and then I was curious, ‘What is this? Where are you going?’ And that’s when I became interested in attending these Bible studies and meetings. From there, that’s when I did get invited eventually. It took a while, but once I was invited, then that’s how I got invested in the group.”

She explained that not being able to come along initially until she got invited was a bit of a red flag.

Kylie remembered, "Something that sparked curiosity, I guess, in the beginning, like, ‘Why can’t I be invited?’ But the way it’s set up is how it’s supposed to be set up from their point of view, right? Because they want people to be curious, they want you to be interested in what’s next — what else can I get invited to? So that’s actually the game plan from them to begin with.”

Douglas said, “Once I went, I felt really comfortable because I knew a lot of dancers there, and it just seemed like a right place to be with different friends and following God. It didn’t seem like anything was wrong.”

That feeling didn’t last. Soon Kylie saw red flags, realized she was not in a safe place and escaped from the church/talent management company.

She said over time, “You can only push someone’s buttons for so long, and that was kind of what happened with my situation. I was mentally drained the entire time. I was never good enough in their eyes, so I was always trying to please my mentors or please everyone around me.”

Now, Robert faces a lawsuit accusing him of brainwashing and abuse, but he has categorically denied all allegations against him.

Kylie said the allegations against Shinn “opened my eyes to reminding me this is not where I should be, this is not safe, and it still is an active danger right now and that’s why we need to keep spreading the word.”

The accusations also made her realize, “I’m not the only one feeling this way and it’s okay to feel this way and it’s okay to realize this is not my circle to be in. And then with the allegations, it made me realize this is not a safe place to be either.”

She emphasized, "When it all broke out [on social media], I’m seeing other women that weren’t in a good situation and I didn’t want to let anything get that far.”

Kylie did go to the police about Shinn to report alleged inappropriate conduct. In the doc, another former Shekinah member, Pryscilla Lee, who spent the better part of 23 years with the church, alleges she was sexually abused by Shinn.

Kylie recalled meeting Pryscilla and her sister Melanie Lee and hearing their stories only after leaving the group.

"I never even spoke to Pryscilla until after we were out," she shared. "So even though I sat right in front of her at every service, twice a week, we never spoke because that's how separated we were from each other... Once we did hear her story, we were sitting down, we all had a meeting and we were just listening to her story and what she went through and it brought us all to tears, because how were we sitting next to someone for a year and a half, two years and not know anything she was going through? It was really hurtful and painful to hear her story and everything that she went through, but I'm just glad now that she's in a better space."

While Kylie, Pryscilla and others are moving forward, Miranda’s family is still fighting for her to leave.

Kylie said of the Wilkings, “I think all along Melanie and her family, they’re just there wanting to love on Miranda and wanting to be supportive for her. And no matter which Miranda, which version of her they’re getting, they’re still the same… [They] love her no matter what and they just want their daughter and their sister back. So I think even if she does put up a fight or get upset or whatever, they’re still going to be the same pushing through trying to get her out of there.”

Asked what her message would be to Miranda and others in the group, Kylie reflected, “I would just say to follow your heart, because your heart knows where you should be, even though your mind may be manipulated and brainwashed, your heart knows where you belong.

"Everyone has different heartstrings and we know if it’s a mom or a dad, those heartstrings get pulled in different ways, so I would say follow your heart and that will lead you exactly where you need to be, because that’s where it led me and now I’m back exactly where I belong.”

Douglas said of the doc, “The message I get from the documentary is you always have your power in your back pocket, and you may forget it’s there, but it’s your decision and choice when you can pull that back out and be like, ‘No, I’m going to take my power, I’m going to use my voice, I’m going to stand up for myself.’ And I hope that this is a reminder to anyone that may be in a dangerous or even just a questionable situation, like, you have your power. You can use your voice. Don’t be afraid you stand up for yourself.”

As for how she is doing now, Kylie says she is "refreshed" and focusing on her dance company, the Volts. She shared, "We travel and do competitions and they've actually been doing really, really well this year, and so I've just been fully focused on them and making sure that I'm being the best leader I can for these kids and mentoring them."