Dancing With the Devil subject Miranda Derrick has spoken out about the hate she’s received following the hit documentary’s release, including online harassment, stalking and even death threats.
Derrick posted a video on TikTok talking about the impact the documentary has had on her life and the negative backlash she’s received.
“Before this documentary, my husband and I, we felt safe,” Derrick said. “Now that this documentary is out, we feel like our lives have been put in danger. We have both been followed in our car, we have received hate mail, death threats. People have been sending us messages to commit suicide. We’ve been stalked.”
Derrick shared a few of the alarming messages she has received through DMs and comments, including someone who threatened to “gut her” and another who said grab her if they saw her on the street.
“I honestly don’t understand how my parents and my sister thought that this documentary would help me, or help our relationship in any way,” she said. “I have been getting together with my family for the past couple of years privately to work on our relationship to make things right, to mend what has been broken, and I’ve been loving it. Getting together, laughing, just enjoying each other’s company.
“This documentary has made it very difficult to continue doing that,” she continued. “Honestly, I think my parents and sister have focused so much on this documentary that they’ve forgotten about working on any relationship with me. And that hurts — that hurts me to say.”
@itsmirandaderrick
Derrick has been in the spotlight ever since Netflix released Dancing With the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, a three-part documentary examining Los Angeles-based Shekinah Church and the charismatic pastor who many say abused his spiritual authority and led it like a religious cult.
At the center of the story is a group of very influential TikTok dancers — including Derrick — who joined the church and ultimately signed with the pastor’s talent management company, 7M, which was then used to control many aspects of their lives. Derrick’s sister and parents spoke about the impact the church has had on their relationship, and the lengths they’ve gone to to reestablish a connection.
Last week, Derrick shared in an Instagram story that she had seen the series but did not believe it told the full story.
“I believe that this documentary is a one-sided story,” Derrick wrote. “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 process 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. Honestly, it made me mad, frustrated and annoyed that they were being so overbearing and chaotic.”
