Miranda Derrick’s sister Melanie Wilking has spoken out against the death threats directed at the TikTok star in a new interview with People on Tuesday, June 11. After Melanie participated in Netflix’s Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, Miranda took to social media to speak about how her sister and her parents’ participation in the documentary has lead to threatening messages and put a strain on their relationship.
Melanie explained that she had no intention of viewers threatening her sister when she took part in the documentary, and she and her parents simply want what’s best for Miranda. “Of course, we never wanted any sort of violence to come her way, and I’m very sorry that she has experienced that because our only intent was to save her from an unsafe environment and to give her love and know that we’re here to support her,” she told People.
The documentary focuses in on the 7M talent agency, which is owned by Robert Shinn, who is a pastor in the controversial Shekinah Church. The series alleges that the pastor is controlling, and it shares the experiences of performers who had been signed to 7M previously.
While Miranda has spoken out against the documentary, Melanie said that it’s “not my true sister” making videos about it. “I know that this is from the church and from Robert. She’s so loving and kind and loved our family, and so for her to point fingers at us, it’s just not her true self,” she explained. “All the steps that we’ve taken, trying to resolve it quietly for a year, then going live and then having all of these dancers and members leave because we used our voice… all of these things have resulted in positive outcomes, so I have to believe that my gut and intuition has been correct.”
In Miranda’s statement, she spoke about trying to improve her relationship with her family, and she feels that their participation in the documentary has hurt the progress they’ve made. Melanie said that she doesn’t believe that her sister has watched the documentary, and the family took part not only to improve their relationship with her, but also to make sure others don’t get involved with 7M or the church.