A new Netflix documentary titled “Dancing for the Devil,” released on May 29, is sparking significant criticism against a Korean-American pastor.
Subtitled “The 7M TikTok Cult,” the documentary accuses Pastor Robert Shinn who has run Shekinah Church, a Korean immigrant church in the Santa Ana area, since the 1990s. According to the documentary, Shinn gathered social media influencers while running the church and founded a management company called 7M in 2021.
The story came to light when the family of a dancer named Miranda Derrick, an influencer under 7M, exposed Shekinah Church and Pastor Shinn. The family claims in the documentary that “Miranda lost contact with her family after she fell into the cult.” Derrick is now a well-known influencer with over 2.1 million followers on TikTok alone.
These issues are not unique to Miranda’s family. As one victim after another comes forward to speak out against him, the documentary reveals Shinn’s sexual abuse, labor and wage exploitation, and religious indoctrination. The documentary also shows footage of Shinn’s sermons. In one, Shinn told his congregation that they should “die for themselves and their families.”
“I was taught that I had to die for my family to save my family and that if I did that, my family would have a better chance of going to heaven,” one victim said in an interview.
In reality, Shinn is currently involved in legal battles with victims who escaped 7M. According to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Shinn, Shekinah Church, 7M, and others filed a defamation lawsuit against former members in October 2022. In March last year, former church members including Elisa Priscylla Leigh, Melanie Lee Goldman, and Haley Marie Carroll filed a lawsuit against Shinn in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging 58 counts of sexual assault, fraud, human trafficking, labor exploitation, emotional distress, sex discrimination, and breach of contract. The trial is scheduled to begin in July 2025.
As the controversy surrounding Shinn, Shekinah Church, and 7M has grown, online petition site change.org has been calling for law enforcement to investigate the case. According to change.org, a petition titled “Investigate Robert Shinn for His Crimes” was started on June 8 to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the Santa Ana Police Department, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. As of June 11 at 2 p.m., 11,342 people have signed the petition out of the 15,000 signatures goal.
“Shinn is brainwashing church members and exploiting all the money they make from social media,” the petition reads. “We cannot allow someone who preys on vulnerable individuals under the guise of religion.”
The Korea Daily made several attempts to reach Shinn and the Shekinah Church for comment, but was unable to reach them.
Currently, all of 7M’s posts since the documentary’s release have been made private. Instead, only a statement has been posted. In a statement, 7M denied all the allegations in the Netflix documentary. “Netflix recklessly provided a platform to peddle a false narrative against Pastor Shinn, and we will take legal action to stop all of these lies.”
BY YEOL JANG, HOONSIK WOO [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
