Where is Miranda Wilking, the dancer accused of being in a TikTok cult? (2024)

TikTok and social media star Miranda Derrick (née Wilking) is at the center of the story. She and her younger sister, Melanie Wilking, are both dancers who previously branded themselves together as The Wilking Sisters. However, Miranda became involved with 7M via her boyfriend, James Derrick —and her family says in the series, distanced herself from her.

Here's where Miranda Derrick is today.

Miranda moved to Los Angeles and became involved with 7M

Melanie and Miranda grew up dancing around Detroit. Their parents, Dean and Kelly, recount in the docuseries that the family was supportive of the sisters' passion. After she graduated from high school, Melanie says, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a professional dancer. Eventually, Melanie joined her there, and they built the Wilking Sisters brand to the tune of millions of followers.

In April 2019, Melanie says in the documentary, James "BDash" Derrick reached out to collaborate with them. Miranda and James became close, and eventually, she began socializing with his group of friends — including videographer Isaiah Shinn, Robert Shinn's son. Eventually, former 7M member Aubrey Fisher says, Robert decided to form his own management company to manage the dancers.

Melanie says that in the fall of 2020, she was invited to have dinner at Robert's home.

"At that time, Miranda was in. Like, she was committed," Melanie says. "She did tell me that they read the Bible at dinner and they kind of go around and share different experiences and whatnot."

Melanie distanced herself from the church and company. But as Melanie and her parents say in the series, Miranda grew more distant from her family as she became more involved in the church. When her grandfather died in early 2021, Miranda didn't attend his funeral. When Miranda and James got engaged later that year, her family found out through social media.

In February 2022, Miranda's sister Melanie and their parents, Kelly and Dean, took to Instagram to plead for Miranda's reconnection.

Where is Miranda now?

In May 2022, after her family's Instagram Live, Miranda issued a statement to The Cut.

"I am not held against my will and I've never been a hostage," Miranda said in a statement. "I go to church and I have faith in God. If one day I wish to pursue my faith elsewhere, I will and feel completely free to do that."

A lawyer for 7M also issued a statement to Rolling Stone following the publication's investigation into the company.

"We made the promise not to talk about it, and we haven't talked about it with her since," Kelly says in the series. But, I don't know. Right now? So far, what we've done, we've got her back in our life."

On social media, Miranda still regularly posts dance videos, many with her husband James, as well as other lifestyle content. She posts with her family as well: Miranda wished her mother, Kelly, a happy Mother's Day on Instagram in May, posted a dance video with Kelly and Melanie in April, and attended Melanie's wedding.

However, Melanie says in the series that her relationship with her sister isn't the same as it once was, calling their interactions "superficial."

"I want to have a genuine, you know… like we're moving forward genuinely, and not just for social media," Melanie says.

Miranda has 1.5 million followers on Instagram, 2 million followers on TikTok, and 106,000 subscribers on YouTube. Many of her dance videos credit Isaiah Shinn, Robert's son, as a videographer, and her YouTube channel still lists a 7M address as her contact.

According to Miranda's social media, she and James are still together and have a dog. The two also recently appeared in "Road House," a movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a former UFC fighter who takes a job as a bouncer.

Miranda eventually responded to the documentary on Instagram

Miranda released a statement on her Instagram story on Tuesday, six days after the Netflix documentary premiered. In it, she said that she had seen the film, but that she and her family didn't "see eye to eye."

"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," Miranda wrote.

In the statement, she said she wanted to continue working with Melanie on their joint social media account, but Melanie logged her out. As a result, she said, she had to pursue her personal social media career.

Miranda said that her family did not respect her request for space, and said that they were "overbearing and chaotic." She also addressed missing her grandfather's funeral in 2021.

"I was at a place with my family where I felt like I was being harassed. My parents and sister are not religious. They immediately called me going to church twice a week a 'cult,'" Miranda wrote.

"I felt that if I went back for the funeral they would try to keep me there and not let me come back to LA," she continued. "So, I told my family that I would not be going to Michigan and that I wanted to move in and begin my life with James. To keep it simple, I did not want to be around them at that time because I felt threatened by them."

Miranda said in the statement that she and her family had been meeting to "make amends," but that the documentary was a "further challenge" to their relationship and she would have preferred for the conflict to be private.

"I can't convince anyone to believe anything," she said. "I am just a woman trying to live my life. I am not a victim, I am not in any harm, I am not being abused. I've never asked my family or anyone else to 'help' me in any way. Respectfully, what I choose to do with my life is up to me."

Read the full statement below: