A TikToker has shared a video seemingly mocking concerns expressed by her family amid fears she may have joined a cult-like management company.
Miranda Derrick, formerly Miranda Wilking, is thought to have joined management company 7M Films in late 2020 or early 2021 and now posts content involving her partner, James Derrick, and a number of other participants.
Last month, Miranda's sister, Melanie, and her parents shared an Instagram Live video in which they claimed Miranda had stopped communicating with them a year earlier, had started attending a church and had married James without telling them. They claimed she was 'part of a religious group' and was 'not allowed to speak' to them, but Miranda appeared to dismiss the claims in her video posted this week.
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The owner of 7M, Robert Shinn, is also a pastor for Shekinah Church, and a spokesperson for 7M told The Daily Beast that while Miranda and James are members of the church, the business dealings of 7M Films were conducted separately.
They also denied being a cult, and said the claims made by Miranda's family came amid a family dispute.
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Miranda and Melanie initially gained more than two million followers on TikTok through sharing videos together under the name the Wilking Sisters. The pair stopped posting videos together in early 2021, and while Melanie continued entertaining fans with home dance videos, Miranda created new social media accounts to share her new videos, Rolling Stone reports.
The TikToker's family claimed she had refused to come home for her grandfather’s funeral last year and that she has blocked her family members on social media, with their concerns echoed by other people whose friends work with 7M.
However, Miranda appeared to dismiss the claims in her latest video, titled 'When you're TAKEN...way too long to film', which showed her filming various pieces of content while James stood ominously in the background. In the final clip, James taps on the window of Miranda's car and breaks the tension by asking if she is ready to go and get food together.
As well as releasing the video, both Miranda and James have issued public statements denying they are in a cult, while a lawyer for 7M told Rolling Stone the TikToker is 'a successful businesswoman and a loving wife and daughter who cares very much about her family'. The company's statement added, in part, "It is pathetic and contemptible to try to turn her private family matters into a tawdry public scandal for clicks and clout."
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A former member of the Shekinah church has told The Daily Beast the church would 'totally ruin your life' after losing a lawsuit against Shinn in which she alleged he conned her out of $4 million.
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Topics: TikTok, Viral, US News, Life, Conspiracy Theories
Emily Brown