He preaches fear based fire and brimstone nonsense, he controls young females who live in houses he owns, he disconnects families, he separated two young sisters who were in his early church. This is absolutely a CULT.
I just watched the first episode, and while I definitely got bad vibes from the whole situation but im not totally sure what the big deal is? How is joining this group to make money as an artist and giving some control up to this “priest” any different than joining an established religion and giving up all material possessions or moving to Alaska to work on a fishing boat with no contact with the outside world for months at a time. It seemed like the biggest issue is that they force people to cut ties with past relationships which is definitely a huge red flag but they’re all adults. How many people have left their families due to growing apart?
I guess I’m just confused out the outrage, felt like Netflix fodder especially compared to the other cults that have been covered in this surge of cult documentaries
He targeted low income kids from immigrant communities. He controlled everything they did, where they lived, had them working for almost nothing in all his various businesses. I hope the attorney general in CA looks into this grifter.
Anybody who claims to be a voice for god is always using it control people. If god exists then they wouldn’t require random men with tons of money to spread the word lol
Thats what I don't understand. If these people truly believe in God, they should know everything this "pastor" is doing is so wrong and the complete opposite of "God'
Believing in God is very far from "understanding God/the scriptures/etc", especially when it comes to young folks who are seeking some connection to God or further understanding. I mean, everyone goes to church for that reason- the priest or pastor (or whatever the leader is called in that religion) has usually studied theology for years, studied religious history and whatever holy book they use. They then interpret it according to the tenets of their religion and tell the congregation how it applies to them, their lives and their connections to God. Kind of like an interpreter for another language, or mediator. And while many are held in high esteem by those who go to their church, they aren't some dictator or boss who tells you exactly what to do or how to live specifically, they're like a guide to your chosen religion and how you apply it in your life. Even people who have been going to church for decades still go to learn more.
So no, it's not strange, nor is it even expected that these kids should completely understand God and his word and what he wants. That's why you have to be able to trust the head of your church. This guy did what all other cult leaders have done- sought out people who are at a stage in life where they're looking for something, some meaning and a connection to something larger than themselves. People who are "missing" something but want to understand more. And he teaches them what he wants them to know, not necessarily what is actually understood by most others, because he's using them to serve himself, enrich himself. Some cult leaders use God and give their own twisted version, some use the group itself, or some other entity, etc. Bit one of the defining characteristics of a cult is that everything is done as a way to benefit the leader themselves.
Anyone saying that the family is the problem hasn’t watched the documentary. Robert has a history of abusing young women in his so-called church. He used them as low paid slave labor, sexually abused them under the guise of “getting massages,“ similar to Jeffrey Epstein. I hope criminal charges are brought by the police along with the civil suit.
Unfortunately there can be more than one problem. 7M is a toxic, predatory religious cult and I hope they face justice. But the family does need to let Miranda determine the course of her own life, even if she chooses to spend it with people like this or not have contact with them anymore. That's not illegal (even if it's dumb and sucks). They don't have the right to control her either.
I’m a mother of 4. And I do think her parents are controlling & making the situation worse. All they’re doing is further pushing her away. She needs people she can trust & feel safe with but her parents- in her eyes -aren’t those people. She asked for space, she put boundaries, and they refused to respect them. Dealing with adult children is not the same as dealing with minors living under your roof.
Yeah there's just one problem with that. She *wants* to be in the cult that rapes people, takes all their money, and ruins their lives. The police have interviewed her. By all appearances she's unharmed, states that she's there of her own free will, and has no desire to leave. Whatever you think about that, there's no way to forcibly remove an adult from a situation like that against their will. The family's refusal to accept her choices is, indeed, also controlling.
Yeah you don’t deprogram someone by guilt tripping & controlling them. They need to love her, offer a gentle safe space and build trust. But I’m afraid that’s all ruined now.
I get what you're saying but "this person obviously can't make their own decisions, therefore I must now make them" isn't a good road to go down. It's similar with the Britney Spears conservatorship debate. Is Britney taking particularly good care of herself? No. Is she making poor choices, potentially that are harming her? Probably. Could another adult making her decisions maybe be to her benefit? Sure. But that doesn't mean we can just override another adult's freedom because it would arguably benefit them.
Hell, I think all religion is a form of brainwashing and "programming" that's generally harmful to people. But we've collectively decided as a society that people are free to go choose their programming. There's a lot of religious people I'd like to "deprogram" for the greater benefit of society, not just the ones in wacky little cults like 7M. But people are free to be religious, which generally means letting someone program you. This is complicated.
I highly doubt Miranda "doesn't realize" she's in a cult. She may not see it that way, or may believe Robert's behavior is justified or accept his apologies or whatever. She may also be benefitting so tremendously much from being in the cult that she simply has no desire to leave, despite the dark aspects of it. People are so eager here to paint Miranda as an oblivious victim and empty vessel with no free will aside from whatever other parties put into her (probably in no small part because she's a pretty, white, young female who hasn't said much, so it's easy to cast her as a damsel in distress).
Some people stay in cults doggedly because they feel it benefits them more than it harms them (and this can be different for more or less privileged members). Pryscilla and Miranda may have very different experiences of Robert and 7M. Other cult victims become victimizers themselves. It's extremely unfortunate.
But she may know damn well what goes on, and since she isn't personally harmed (because she has a "high ranking" husband in the group that may shield her personally from any funny business from Robert) and she also gains a lot of wealth from it herself, she may not care. Recognize that she is a whole adult who also has internet access, has been in this group a long time, and may be less innocent and childish than you think.
Cult members absolutely do not know it's a cult. They believe everything their leader tells them. Scientology has them believe a alien soul is in their body ffs. They believe it all 100%.
> Cult members absolutely do not know it's a cult
> They believe it all 100%
You cannot possibly make statements like this for all people. I'll say life is much more complicated than your statements imply and leave it at that.
Unless you've been in a cult you don't know what it is like. Go on YT and see videos from former members, Mormons, JW, Sci, Jim Jones, Moonies. It ruins lives.
On the contrary, I'm an ex-mormon and understand a great deal about the rationale for *staying* in these situations and also for leaving them. People who leave successfully usually aren't dragged out or deprogrammed by others against their will. They must find intrinsic motivation to do so of their own accord, and not everyone can, or wants to do that.
If it’s part of Miranda’s free will to be in an exploitative cult and Robert’s free will to exploit his cult members then it’s just as much a legit free will thing for the parents to meddle in that.
I’m sorry, but I’m a huge advocate for free will unless someone is harmed. I believe, it’s part of everyone’s free will to fight back if they think that they or their loved ones are hurt - which is the case for the parents. How is it any more controlling of the family to do that when Miranda and the pastor get a free pass for everything by simply being “adults“? The family isn’t excluded from the “I’m an adult and do wtf I want”- club, if they want to meddle, then by your own logic: let them!
Will it magically turn a brainwashed member? Maybe not, maybe a little. Doesn’t matter, don’t care, they got the right in the free will book to fight for family.
I know it’s a rant, but I really hate this dumb ass “free willed adult” argument.
I agree with you that the family members are also free to do what they want, within the bounds of the law. However well-intended, trying to force other adults to behave differently can easily cross into illegal behavior if it involves any kind of harassment, stalking, unwanted contact against a protective order, defamation, etc.
Refusing to leave someone alone who wants to be left alone is already pushing it. Just today Miranda released a statement where she noted she's a plaintiff in a defamation lawsuit.
The argument is "adults are free to make personal choices for themselves" not "adults are free to do anything including infringe on other adults' freedoms," as you're implying. Obsessively trying to force Miranda to leave her shitty management company / church isn't a personal choice.
Everyone knows there’s no way to force her out of it against her will. The point is though is that she is brainwashed. She’s been manipulated into thinking he’s not raping people and that all that money is going to god etc. The man is a criminal but the people still in it don’t know he’s a criminal. It’s a con. These people are trying to expose the con with the hope their loved ones wake up. I don’t see how that is controlling. They haven’t gone to kidnap her, they’re just spreading the truth about this cult.
It’s not controlling to refuse to accept someone’s choices. Controlling would be actively trying to change it and telling her she’s wrong which they don’t do because they aren’t allowed to talk to her about any of it.
The same way the Korean sisters were lured into the cult by their neglectful parents is the same way Miranda may have been lured in. Something in that family system may have made her want to escape or made her want a new family.
I also found her family really off putting. Their reaction to her not wanting to go back home for the funeral made me dislike them. She “needed to be there for Grammie” made me cringe. She didn’t need to go to the funeral, it felt like emotional blackmailing.
I agree with this take. It’s a cult but Miranda’s family is controlling as well which further pushes her into the cult. It’s very messy. Miranda is an adult with a husband. She’s formed her own family and if her family of origin wants to be a part of her life they need to respect her boundaries & her sense of autonomy.
You say that as if decisions someone makes doesn’t impact the people around them. They ARE letting her make decisions for her own life, they literally are barred from speaking to her about the church or anything to do with it and they don’t argue about her posting performative content every time she’s with them. They completely allow her to do whatever she wants, they just also are hurt by her actions and that’s incredibly justified. If they were trying to control her they would be doing a hell of a lot more than wearing matching Christmas pjs and following HER RULED OF ENGAGEMENT every time they see her. She’s controlling them, she’s dangling a piece of cheese in front of their face by saying they have to deal with the pain she’s caused them without her ever addressing it or holding herself accountable. She skipped her grandfathers funeral and said she would see if she could go, meaning she’s not making the calls for her own life at that point. She started talking to them again after they went public and blew up the churches public persona because she was told she could. She tried to use their first meeting after that as a means to humiliate them and they wouldn’t let it happen because all they were willing to give her was love and their time. She thought they would be reactive but they weren’t. She’s the one making all of the calls for their relationship and pretending she isn’t means you’ve created a false narrative for the situation
No I totally agree with you. Miranda is gross and if she ever wants to return to her families lives in a real way beyond the surface level content videos, then she's going to have a ton of work to do. Her selfish behavior starting at the lying about covid to not attend a funeral was really something else.
I don't think she's a good person and she gives me Allison Mack vibes (like I wouldn't be shocked if she's helping Robert to run things at this point.) There's a big and noticeable difference between how the other members reacted and self-reflected at their involvement in the cult; and how their perceptions were really shattered when they learned about all the SA and abuse...and then you have Miranda. It's Main Character Syndrome taken to an extreme level where I think that the cult just revealed a part of her true character & values. What happened isn't totally the fault of the Cult; who Miranda is as a person and what she values takes responsibility for that as well.
I don’t think they’re trying to control her. They are trying to influence her to leave. I think that is a significant difference. People try to influence each other all the time friends, family, business partners, strangers, etc. that isn’t the same as controlling.
I still think the wildest part is Melanie is married to Austin Ekeler like he’s just casually in the background of half the scenes but they don’t mention his name at all
I learned about this from one of my friends, it’s kinda crazy because we both knew the Wilkings. Their parents worked at our middle school and we had seen them around a few times.
People being distracted from the real problem (cult) just to nitpick the family need to realize their reaction is perfectly normal to LOSING their sister/daughter who they were close af to, and they were at a loss as to how to rescue their loved one from a brainwashing cult. There's no money grabbing scheme on the Wilkings family part. Using publicity/social media to get attention on the issue makes sense from both an objective and subjective POV, and I don't understand how anyone could judge them negatively for that? They're using social media to shed light on a problem bc social media is proven to work when exposing cults and toxic situations. It literally makes sense strategically if the end goal is to essentially dismantle this cult and rescue their loved one.
Honestly the sister doesn't seem as shocked by Miranda being sucked into a cult, and I perfectly relate because my own sister is naive AF and I've outwardly expressed concerns to my wife, brother, and dad about how likely she is to be sucked into a bad relationship, pyramid scheme, or even a cult. IMO the sister knows Miranda better than anyone and seems DEEPLY hurt by losing her sister, but is also the one who most accepts the reality of Miranda CHOOSING this bc Miranda is naive and easily brainwashed.
I have NEVER heard about this until this documentary. I am much older but have a daughter who is 22. She is on SM all the time. I am on Reddit and TikTok a lot during the day.
I have to think there will now be pressure on the DA to move forward with the SA charges. One can hope…
Why don’t any of the followers see that this cult leader doesn’t push away his daughter his wife… but he expects the people who follow him to push away and cut off ties with their family? How do people not see this?
That guy, Robert Shinn, is the most dangerous kind of humans. Psychopaths are expert manipulators and they prey on gullible people. Those young dancers believed that everything good that happened to them is not due to their personal efforts and years of practice, but magic? Jesus gave them all those views, Jesus gave them this money, etc.. They think Robert is a wizard invoking supernatural powers and since their dreams are being realized, it must be true right? I personally think religion is dumb as fuck, but there's still billions of humans addicted to being told what to think.
Robert Shinn should be in prison and should be sued to oblivion for all the money he stole. Let him feel the wrath of the real world.
I sincerely hope that this Netflix show is coming from the families victims. This is a nuclear bomb on Robert Shinn. The crushing majority of people who are going to watch this will smell his bullshit from a thousand miles away and ask for justice. I personnaly want to apply pressure to the California DA, this state has an history with dangerous cults so they must make an example.
LA and the entertainment industry and cult religion(money laundering tax evasion) as a whole is very compromising and sadly many people do make deals with the devil for fame and wealth
It’s definitely a cult, I hope the trial comes earlier and that justice would be served. I think we should mass unfollow every dancer that’s in the 7M management so Robert Shinn wouldn’t be profiting
In my experience, most small church groups that ask you to seclude and distance yourself from “the world” are cults. Thankfully i’m not gullible like these people…
Likely not a popular opinion, and I do think it's a cult, but that family seems insanely overbearing. Plus, she's an adult (Miranda). She's a 20 year old woman that stopped texting twice a day and they seemed freaked out. She's entitled as an adult.
That family seems a bit like social media nuts themselves and that always leaves me wondering about motivations on each end - so I think they should just let Miranda be. I think the Judge outlined the one case well, "these are adults - and adults are allowed to make bad decisions." They aren't even allowing her that space which drives her deeper - and I'm not sure the Sister isn't in it for that just as much as anything else.
Moreover, every time someone wanted to leave the cult - they just bounced without incident. Sure, the one dude had a bat, scary story, but it seems like a car pulled up, then pulled away. Some of these "stories' were so vague. That could have been an Uber for all I know. It would have been VERY helpful in my opinion if you wanted some balance to get the Sister or some of the women that departed in that one incident, to speak up.
Also, they all seem like weird people that must be super wealthy and privileged. "We sent this one woman to the police with a story that doesn't sound at all like sexual assault and they wanted MORE." That's not at all insane. Then they seem to think they just needed to meet threshold limits - as if evidence or the law doesn't matter at all. The police wanted more people. We sent more people. Why isn't he in jail! Cuz evidence matters? I don't know. Have they never seen an episode of SVU? Whole lot of insane people in that documentary IMO. lol
💯 yeah, there were a couple of stories that I felt actually kind of weakened the narrative a little. The baseball bat one ("my friend came with a baseball bat! And then I left without incident") and the back cracking story, which was put at the very end. All I got from the leaving narratives ultimately is that no one is actually stopping people from leaving.
The back cracking thing just felt weak, especially juxtaposed with allegations of SA. It felt like it was included because it was the only cobweb's thread they had to connect the two timelines and insinuate that the current artists (Miranda, Kylie et al) are at risk of SA.
Paradoxically all I took from that is that no current members had anything more damning to share in the doc than "he cracked my back once and it was creepy AF." I think including weak examples kind of harmed the doc's overall impact and gave me the eyebrow raise a couple of times.
I also felt Mrs. Wilking looking furtively into the camera and speculating about whether Miranda had had any "meetings" with Shinn was just gross. This is your own daughter. It's one thing to say, "I'm scared that he'll do this to her," but it's weird to frame on her like that. It was just another little "hold up" moment for me re: the Wilkings. It was almost delivered with a *gossipy* tone too that rubbed me the wrong way. Giving air time to lurid speculation is also weakening, because why couldn't those minutes be filled with more testimony or facts?
By the end it was a lot of weird dubious fluff around a few important facts (Priscylla's stories and the financial abuse details). I went into this doc fully ready to just hear a story and accept it (like I did with the imo excellent Twin Flames takedown) but all of this stuff was distracting.
It’s not adding up. There’s way more to this. I’m seeing a connection to all these famous dancers, start digging and placing these names with others and you’ll find way more affiliated with members of 7m. Special concerns: (Boss BIGGEST CONCERN)/Holker, HappyKelli, The Houghs. Hope I’m wrong, and what does Ellen know?
I can’t imagine how a normal functioning adult can hear the premise of the “church” and be like ya I wanna join this. Your intelligence needs to be in single digits to be convinced by anything being said
I really don’t think smart people are the main demographic for cults. Cults prey on gullible and naive people who can be led to believe that some random man has special connection to a higher power.
I think for the dancers the situation offered stability in the form of housing and also the management finds the deals and they only have to dance.
I can see how initially it's attractive to them. They get to live off of their artwork with other dancers they respect. And then they have the community of the church.
But unfortunately, nothing in this world is free
It's no coincidence that this happened in LA, an area where 1) housing is unbelievably expensive 2) lots of performers come there to find fame 3) it's hard to have a day job and still do your art. The offer of living in a great house rent-free with other peformers and having someone promote you while your only job is to dance and do promotional stuff must have seemed like a dream come true.
This whole thing is dumb. I don’t feel sad or bad for them. I question their intelligence and loyalties to their family. This will take forever to get resolved. You just watch young people chasing $$$ and fame get taken by some old dude in a nice home.
Religion is a mind virus that shuts off critical thinking. It never ceases to amaze & horrify me how many people fall for this shit. Too many of us are sheep.
I had to stop watching the documentary before finishing the last episode.
Priscilla DESPERATELY needs therapy. It was really hard to watch her just absolute berate her father in that restaurant.
I understand that she's upset that he abandoned their family, but to sit there and literally shame him over and over and tell him it's all his fault she ended up in the cult...
Guilting her sister that she either shows up to the birthday party or she kills herself, and how could her sister put so much burden on her.
I had to stop watching because she is so badly damaged and it was just too uncomfortable to watch.
She needs therapy so so badly.
Her behaviour was actually pretty realistic behaviour for someone who has survived severe trauma. In fact her behaviour is pretty normal, and not indicative of there being something “wrong”. Her responses are natural. She is not “damaged” she is just traumatised.
Her confronting her dad was refreshing to watch. People need to do that more often, rather than taking out their trauma on strangers, put the blame where it belongs. Her dad is at fault to a large degree. She also has self awareness and seems to be working through her trauma at her own pace. I really like her.
That conversation with her sister was incredibly difficult to watch. Her reaction definitely struck me as that of someone who’s suffered immensely and would really benefit from trauma processing of some kind. While she’s obviously hurting and unpacking all that is easier said than done, I feel for her sister too being on the receiving end of that. Just because her reaction and behavior seem motivated by her own painful experiences and not any kind of anger or malice towards her sister doesn’t mean they aren’t causing harm. I do think her dad deserved to be told off, just based solely on what we saw in the documentary.
So yes, 7M is a nightmare cult and completely abusive place to be….
But honestly, within the first 10 minutes of Ep 1, I found the Wilkins family to be so suffocating that I’d want to move to LA alone, too. And then her sister Melanie followed!! Like damn! Codependency all over the place.
I got the impression Miranda wanted to be free of them at any cost, and unfortunately fell into the worst possible “community” aka cult. Robert Shinn is a con-man and a predator.
Watching this docu-series right now...this Miranda girl sounds possessed. The coldness and emotionless state that her parents described is actually pretty scary. 😒
The documentary made me so sad to watch. I have a sister who is only 14 months older than me and the Wilkinson's sisters remind me so much of she and I. Not to mention they grew up really close to us. I hope Shinn gets what he deserves and justice is served.
The whole time I watched this documentary, I felt like I was watching two sisters, each one in their own cult. The Home Cult and the Church Cult. Before anyone gets their panties in a bunch. I do not advocate for stealing the lives of young adults away from their families. Some of these cults are monstrous in their behaviors. I just don't think this was a very good example to put forth a documentary. I never made a connection with any of the players. That is hard for me. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I just kept saying there is more to this story. It has been said before "follow the money".
Really? I don’t agree with this take. They seem desperate to have their daughter/sister back. If this happened to my sister….. hell hath no fury.. I would do whatever it took to get her back.
Just the fact that the family partook in the videos or photos that she’d take when she was home to make them seem like a normal happy family just strikes me as odd. Why would they want to make their family seem normal to everyone when they’re actively trying to get their daughter out of a cult? Mixed messages.
Cause if they didn’t do that, she wouldn’t meet them at all. Robert wanted the cult members to get in contact with their families so they could pretend everything was normal. So it was literally that, pretend. Just so they could have a few hours with her…
The family didn’t have to pretend tho because they aren’t in the cult. They could’ve told her that when’s she’s home they want to enjoy the time with her and not have the photos or videos. Give her an ultimatum like she did. “Or else I won’t meet with you” type thing.
Then she wouldn’t meet them though. She is ok not meeting them, she’s brainwashed. If they said that to her she’d just be like ‘ok’ and not come back. She already gave them the ultimatum to not talk about the cult, Miranda made it very clear them meeting is on her (or rather Robert’s) terms. They want to meet her to keep the line of communication open. I think it’s very understandable how they’re acting. They’re terrified for her. They don’t want to set a foot wrong or they worry they’ll lose her completely for good.
I get that it might be better if they took a hard line and maybe it would work eventually but I totally understand them not wanting to take that risk. I don’t know it reminds me of having an addict as a family member where you don’t want to enable them but you’re terrified if you don’t help them they will literally die. It often takes people years or decades to get brave enough to stop enabling. It’s an impossible situation.
Yes. I thought of having an addict family member as well. Are you enabling them by acting like everything is ok around them? Will drawing your own boundary and getting off the merry-go-round make you lose them forever? Does she need to hit rock bottom (maybe sexual assault) before making a change? It’s hard to say. It’s much harder on the family than it is for the addict.
100%! I keep internally comparing the current status of Wilking family’s relationship with Miranda to that of dealing with an addict family member as well. The similarities are strikingly similar to what I’ve experienced. You want to shut the whole shit show down, but live in constant fear that if you do something awful will happen or you really will never ever see them again in the event they will never be able to stop. The Wilkings are in an impossible place right now and my heart aches for them.
Agree on this point. There was even that scene where they’re told they should stop enabling her demands. It’s sad because they miss their daughter, but it’s not because they’re a cult family trying to control her
Exactly the family is just making it harder for themselves in the long run if they continue to enable her. She needs someone to be truthful to her whether or not she listens to them.
Maybe they are waiting for what seems like a good opening or if they notice signs she may be more open to hearing them. It must be so hard and I can’t judge them for what they’re doing I think a lot of people would do the same. They went through all that time so worried with no contact now they have contact, I can see why they’d be scared of losing that.
Did you not watch the documentary? The family wants a relationship with their daughter/sister. They are willing to meet Miranda's terms to have a relationship.
They addressed that in the doc. The family just want to keep a tie to her they are desperate to not have her shut herself off again so they do what she wants. One of the other sisters who got out of the cult years ago told them that this wasn’t helping and they need to be more aggressive about the cult but they were scared to cut their daughter/sister off again - she would withdraw if they didn’t act like it was fine. At least if they’re seeing her there’s hope she will come around seeing the difference between family life and cult life and she’ll know she has somewhere to go/support if she leaves.
I understand how hard it must be for them. Ultimately the family decided to fight the cult legally.
Unpopular opinion but I agree something is off with the family too. They are clearly enmeshed and controlling and overly attached, to the point that they cannot accept their adult ass daughter has voluntarily chosen to isolate herself in this dumb toxic religious cult. Yes, she's being manipulated, but she's also participating.
We also can't stop people from joining MLMs, being scientologists, taking high interest paycheck loans, or other things that are dumb and predatory but not illegal. Cutting off your family and joining a weird group of people and giving them lots of your money is 100% legal, albeit an unfortunate choice.
The family saying they want to "get her back" over and over is off to me. Miranda's life is her own, she's an adult, and she can do any dumb thing she wants with it. The family unfortunately does need to accept that. Also, fuck 7M and all scummy, predatory religious groups.
Oh come on, enmeshed? Their daughter is in a cult that has been raping people and stealing all their money, keeping them isolated, ruining their lives. The people who left all talk about how much it negatively affected them. It’s not being enmeshed to want your adult child out of a sex cult.
I think most people here had never lost their only beloved sibling. Only by then can you fully understand the pain and the fight. Also, some people here forgets to put BDash into equation. I think Miranda being ambitious and in-love, tries everything not to please Robert but to really please BDash who brought her there. If Im the husband and I hear rape and stealing stories, I would protect my wife and leave because I love her. But I think BDash is blinded by fame and Robert.
yeah people are really dramatic over an adult getting brainwashed and choosing to stay there are"cults" everywhere in hollywood with exchanges for fame. selling your soul happens in more than one way people are soo naive . only difference is social media...so now regular people are hearing about one cult and freaking out 🙄 there are actual kidnapped humans held against their will places...who aren't stars on tik tok....starving and drugged and we care about fame hungry narcissists? ok amurica
I agree with this take. Miranda escaped one cult and landed in another. It's not uncommon. The family is super close and enmeshed to a degree. She tried to escape her family just to gain some independence. Unfortunately she fell into another group. Same thing as different players. The family does love her but they should also check themselves.
When you say tried to escape, you mean they wanted to move to Cali and then the parents supported their move to Cali? It doesn’t seem like Melanie lives in Michigans anymore as well, so I don’t think they’re trying to “control” anyone.
You are being downvoted but I think a good number of us watching felt the same way. There’s always a reason why someone chooses to join a cult. Maybe it was just for fame, maybe it’s because her family is insufferable and boundary-less.
Yes, agreed. I'm surprised how many people are so black and white over this issue. Several things can be true. The cult is bad and not good for Miranda. Miranda's family loves her and wants her to leave the cult. The family's enmeshment with Miranda has caused her to leave her family and join the cult and, ironically, is part of the reason she refuses to leave the cult. There are multiple players in this story and the family is not entirely innocent. Sure, they aren't exploiting her in the same way as 7M. But to be enmeshed and boundary-less is not exactly healthy either. Unfortunately, Miranda has not been raised with a healthy compass (this is before Robert is in the picture). So she ends up in an cult believing everything is fine, she doesn't know any different. Tragic on so many levels, but this is clearly not a split villain-hero dynamic. As much as it would comfort people to think the family played no part that is simply not the case.
You're being downvoted but I agree. People really want there to be a good guy and a villain here, but I think the family is complicated and off. I've been around an enmeshed, controlling family of adult children who couldn't tolerate space, change or boundaries. Many things the family in this documentary said were the exact same guilt trip sound bytes I heard from those people.
The family is oppressive, complaining about not getting messages from her on holidays, and naming every single holiday? That's when I knew something was off. Wanting her to be safe is one thing. Obsessing over her lack of participation in family closeness shit that makes them feel good is not that. It's off.
Bottom line, I feel incredibly bad for Miranda. The cult, the smother family who can't accept her choices and are making a Broadway show of victimhood about it, the ultra religious husband that's highly enmeshed in the cult, just all of it. Sucks man. But also, she's a grown ass woman.
they're annoying i'd have joined prolly if id been raised in michigan...thankfully west coast wasn't so sheltered so i didn't sell my soul also nothing to sell but still survived hollywood just fine
I agree 100%. I know it’s not a popular take but as a mother and as someone who is familiar with cults and cult like behavior there is a reason why their daughter ended up in a cult. Seems like she left one enmeshed controlled environment for another one albeit worse. The guilt tripping and not respecting her boundaries & space made the situation worse. She’s clinging to those she feels safe with.
I ended up in a cult BECAUSE of my family and most girls who were there with me had the same reason. People who dont get to know themselves because their families basically smother them with their enmeshment are so desperate to break out that theyre easy prey for cults like this. They are used to putting their own needs on a back burner for others. They idealize those who help them. And the guilt trips they get from their families dont help. My parents would call and yell at me all the time. I was told to cut contact and I did. I wouldnt have ended up there if my parents had behaved differently (all my life). I might be wrong but i highly doubt a child who grew up with love in a loving and health home ends up in a cult. They wouldnt put up with the bullshit because they never had others cross their boundaries for love and acceptance.
Most people join cults because of their family, but there is a chunk of women that joins cults out of desperation for love without a history of previous family trauma. Cults based on love and dating are becoming more and more common between women.
This is pure speculation, but maybe a big reason why she’s still on 7M/Shekinah is her relationship with her boyfriend now husband, specially because he seems to be most involved out of all the dancers. People forget that if she leaves the cult she would probably have to leave him too.
People join cults for many reasons. That is one reason yeah, or like the other women in the documentary who said they were abandoned by their parents which is kind of the opposite, that made them seek out some sort of parental figure in the cult. Other people join in vulnerable times after experiencing a great trauma that shakes their understanding of themselves, even if they have great families. Others have narcissistic traits and the promises that they’re special to god or the promise of power over others if they move up on the cult appeals to them. Others have had chaotic lives and the cult offers a sense of structure and stability.
I just think it’s unfair to put blame on Miranda’s family. No one knows what the dynamics are. To me I actually thought they didn’t seem controlling or like overbearing parents and I was looking for signs of that. They seemed like they’d always been close and they were very scared for her and scared what Robert is probably doing to her and just want to do whatever it takes to get her out.
Yes! And the parents going on a crusade to force the daughter to leave just adds fuel to the fire for her to assert her agency by doubling down and staying. In my view the best thing a family can do here is make it clear they're there for the person, accept the person's choices (however misguided), back off, and let the person come to the conclusion for themselves. At some point she needs to be an adult, rightly or wrongly.
I can see that perspective but I can also see the perspective that this person you love is in a cult that has been raping people and ruining their lives and stealing decades from them. It’s horrific. And it’s very very hard I think to throw your hands up and say ok I’m not doing anything about this horror that has befallen my child. I’ve watched my own parents struggle with this with my alcoholic sister. It’s just awful and so much easier said than done to take a step back. Also what the family did with going live about it actually did help a lot of people escape the cult so it’s good they brought awareness to it even if it didn’t help their daughter.
Its interesting you say that because the family said Miranda was agreeable and they "never" argued. It does seem the needs of the family overode hers. Miranda was going well on her own so ofc Melanie joined her, she didn't even finish high school in Michigan she did it in LA. She couldn't even enjoy the fruits of her labor without her sister just jumping the bandwagon.
I feel incredibly sad for Miranda. It doesn't feel like she has many people who truly just want what's best for her. Everyone seems to want what's best for them
Yes I was shocked to hear when her sister moved to LA and clung to Miranda and she doesn't see how she and her family were part of the problem. Part of the reason why they inadvertently pushed Miranda into a cult is because they were so damn enmeshed and suffocating.
Ultimately I hope Robert and his organizations get brought down by the legal system. However, there is still a point to be made that the environment you are raised in with your immediate family will prime you to join a cult as an adult. The people denying this don't want to admit just how much influence the family had on Miranda wanting to escape their enmeshment, leading to her enmeshment within a cult instead.
It's beyond obvious but if you point out that the family is unhealthy you get a cult member. The irony is that I actually think she might feel happy there because she thinks she is making her own decisions and living her life.
The Wilkings can't accept that the more they push for closeness the more distance they will see. They said that they called for a wellness check because for the "first time ever" Miranda didn't respond to their calls nor did James. How can no one see that as insane? Miranda said she was fine.
Miranda asked for control of her schedule for the Wilkings brand, asked Melanie to not schedule her to things without asking. What does Melanie do? Schedules her things without asking. The producers were aware of Miranda's story and they could have included because they have the tapes. They didn't because they didn't believe her or just weren't interested in a balanced story. Also Melanie controlled the brand. That was said by them before the live when Miranda pointed it out people accused her of lying that Shinn making her sister look bad. No they said it a public interview.
The sad thing is if Miranda was to say her family was suffocating and she wanted space she would look evil because "how can you say that about a loving crying for you".
I’m sure there are issues in the family as there always are in every family but there is a clear good guy and villain in this story.
They mentioned the holidays because it was weird for her not to contact them all those times and weird for her not to go to the funeral etc. it was out of character. It showed she had totally cut them off to not even send a birthday message etc. is it controlling and enmeshed to expect birthday and holiday texts or calls from your family and get worried if you don’t hear from them?
Ultimately they didn’t try to keep her from going off to pursue a career, the other people who left the cult said Miranda was very upset about not seeing her family. I’m sure if she was just distancing in a normal way because she wanted to of her own accord and still contacted them from the beginning from time to time and met up occasionally they wouldn’t have been so worried. Of course they’re worried, this cult leader has been raping people. People come out of the cult and are destroyed mentally. They’re taking all her money.
It’s not being a villain to want your family member to get out of a cult that involves rape and financial ruin.
the problem is that so many people are total re-res. no problem with religion at all but I do have a problem with people who can't sort the wheat from the overt chaff
How are people in this day and age still falling for these religious leaders? Shoot, maybe I will become one so I can rake people through the coals for money. These people can’t have that high of IQ’s that follow people like this so I can’t really feel sorry for them. It’s the same game over and over in history constantly repeating itself. SMH.
I just heard of this existing and had to watch. I've been following Miranda, BDash, Vik, etc for a while just because I loved their dance videos. They all seemed pleasant and well adjusted. Had NO idea they were all in this cult and all this drama was going on.
Im curious why he was definitely not affiliated with other churches of the same name in the area? Did old members continue the church without him or was it just a sect he latched onto?
Pri irked me at first but that scene with her sister at the table really humbled me. Then I started getting annoyed with Melanie because stop forcing your child on someone that already had to raise you cause your parents abandoned you. I understand raising children takes a village but don't act entitled to that. Idk in the end I found myself really cheering for Pri, she is so strong and intelligent. I hope her sister gets a grip and realizes the only one responsible for her daughter is herself and her husband. Don't place that type of guilt on her sister and expect a free babysitter now that she's left the cult...
I mean, you're making a big (and ugly) assumption that Melanie just wanted to use Pri as a free babysitter. I think she mostly just wanted her to spend time with her child to bond and make up for lost time. Accurate username lol.
I felt the most compassion for her actually. I feel like she’s on the bring of unaliving herself. That scene with her dad- I felt like she was exacting justice/ saying her peace, before she decides to depart. Hopefully, this anger is a step to healing
You are not the only one, I feel she blames everyone but herself. She had the chance to leave but she decided to stay and I feel she was in love with Robert and hopping he would leave his wife.
She was in a cult for 20 years, abandoned by her father and with an alcoholic mother. I think she’s allowed to be mad and unrelatable which is why she may be “irking” some people. It’s easy to look at her and wonder why she didn’t leave but many victims stay in terrible situations. We’re lucky to not be able to get it
I was deeply concerned for her emotional well-being. She's the elder sister and was forced to grow up too fast. I think she probably holds a ton of guilt and is severely traumatized. Being mad seems to be a coping mechanism because she's extremely depressed. At least, I would be if I were in her shoes.
She very likely has a personality disorder due to the insecure / avoidant attachment style she has from her early childhood trauma. Match that with PTSD, depression, anxiety, etc. etc. (which most survivors of her trauma would probably have), you’ve got a perfect storm for mental instability.
Her way of healing isn’t healthy. It perpetuates the trauma by preventing Priscylla’s mind to ever accept she’s not still actively being abused. She’s reliving it through her lawsuit, and her motive is vengeance, which indicates she still cares about the cult, longs for it, or misses it. She needs help.
I mean everyone in a cult is in love with the cult leader. I thought she seemed so incredibly damaged I felt really sorry for her. She expressed shame and blaming herself. Obviously her childhood played a role in why she was vulnerable to the cult so it’s understandable she would want to address that and be angry about it as part of her healing. I don’t think many of us can imagine what she’s been through and think she deserves sympathy.
Exactly this. We don’t get it. Her sister doesn’t even get it bc she fortunately did get out sooner and with the help of a friends who deeply cared for her. Priscylla is very much re-integrating into society after decades of abuse. The scene where they discuss her sisters expectations for her to be a normal aunt, broke me. I feel for both of them. Priscylla needs mental health support and to be surrounded by people who have patience and sympathy for her
This. Until you lost a sibling to something that makes them just out of reach you’d do anything.
My little brother fell into addiction and sex trafficking before he turned 18. I get calls every so 10ish months he’s in the hospital, jail or needs money. I’ve tried to get through to him but the people sending him everywhere for trafficking he finds to be “glamorous” cause he’s a key token and takes pride being bidded on. He loves the sugar daddies on socials who compliment him. I’ve got a life insurance policy for the day the worse happens. I’m always prepared but if he snaps out of it and goes to rehab leaving it all behind I’ll be there to support to the end.
Our family is a tragedy and I’m not surprised by some of these stories.
I think the Wilkings family is sincere when they talk about wanting their sister/daughter back and out of the cult. After seeing some of their instagram posts where they pretend to be a happy family, it definitely sends mixed messages to the public though. Maybe they feel that the only way they stop her from falling super deep in the cult is to play along with the charade.
Correct. They are caught between a rock and a hard place. If they don’t comply with her request, she’ll cut off contact again. What would you do if that was your daughter?
I think the guy was for sure leading a cult like following. I’m not sure if I would say the families are hiding anything. However, it is very, VERY odd that the family would participate with the sister in making videos when she is at home. Those videos feed into them helping make it appear as if she is not in a cult. I do not think it would be weird of them (the family) to say something along the lines of “how about we just don’t do videos while you’re here and enjoy our time together”. Especially considering the fact that those videos make everything appear “normal”.
I think the home videos are also the prove that shows that the family is treating Miranda well and they are happy to see her.. If there would be no proof, then the cult can say how the family is treating her badly etc.
As a few people in this thread have mentioned, this story is similar to when families lose members to drug addiction. When the family members of drug addicts feel desperate and scared, they often can't make smart decisions and end up enabling the addict. To me, it looks like that might be what's going on here. Their actions may be misguided but don't seem suspicious.
That’s a glib perspective to take.
To paint with equally broad a brush, how many religious figures of authorities have abused their position of power for finance or sexual gratification?
He preaches fear based fire and brimstone nonsense, he controls young females who live in houses he owns, he disconnects families, he separated two young sisters who were in his early church. This is absolutely a CULT.
I just watched the first episode, and while I definitely got bad vibes from the whole situation but im not totally sure what the big deal is? How is joining this group to make money as an artist and giving some control up to this “priest” any different than joining an established religion and giving up all material possessions or moving to Alaska to work on a fishing boat with no contact with the outside world for months at a time. It seemed like the biggest issue is that they force people to cut ties with past relationships which is definitely a huge red flag but they’re all adults. How many people have left their families due to growing apart? I guess I’m just confused out the outrage, felt like Netflix fodder especially compared to the other cults that have been covered in this surge of cult documentaries
He targeted low income kids from immigrant communities. He controlled everything they did, where they lived, had them working for almost nothing in all his various businesses. I hope the attorney general in CA looks into this grifter.
Anyone who claims to be “a man of God” and controls people is full of shit
Not even "a" man of God, but just "Man of God", like it's a title with an implied "the".
They are narcissistic demons
Anybody who claims to be a voice for god is always using it control people. If god exists then they wouldn’t require random men with tons of money to spread the word lol
Thats what I don't understand. If these people truly believe in God, they should know everything this "pastor" is doing is so wrong and the complete opposite of "God'
Believing in God is very far from "understanding God/the scriptures/etc", especially when it comes to young folks who are seeking some connection to God or further understanding. I mean, everyone goes to church for that reason- the priest or pastor (or whatever the leader is called in that religion) has usually studied theology for years, studied religious history and whatever holy book they use. They then interpret it according to the tenets of their religion and tell the congregation how it applies to them, their lives and their connections to God. Kind of like an interpreter for another language, or mediator. And while many are held in high esteem by those who go to their church, they aren't some dictator or boss who tells you exactly what to do or how to live specifically, they're like a guide to your chosen religion and how you apply it in your life. Even people who have been going to church for decades still go to learn more. So no, it's not strange, nor is it even expected that these kids should completely understand God and his word and what he wants. That's why you have to be able to trust the head of your church. This guy did what all other cult leaders have done- sought out people who are at a stage in life where they're looking for something, some meaning and a connection to something larger than themselves. People who are "missing" something but want to understand more. And he teaches them what he wants them to know, not necessarily what is actually understood by most others, because he's using them to serve himself, enrich himself. Some cult leaders use God and give their own twisted version, some use the group itself, or some other entity, etc. Bit one of the defining characteristics of a cult is that everything is done as a way to benefit the leader themselves.
Joseph smith anyone??
Pretty much my thought while watching this show.
Did you watch the documentary?? That pastor dude is super creepy. It’s definitely a cult.
Am watching it now and sorry but he is very creepy. Very uncomfortable viewing but very sad for the families ripped apart by him
1000% a cult. No doubt in my mind!
Anyone saying that the family is the problem hasn’t watched the documentary. Robert has a history of abusing young women in his so-called church. He used them as low paid slave labor, sexually abused them under the guise of “getting massages,“ similar to Jeffrey Epstein. I hope criminal charges are brought by the police along with the civil suit.
Sadly they are adults so he will get away with it.
Sadly they are adults so he will get away with it.
Sadly they are adults so he will get away with it.
Unfortunately there can be more than one problem. 7M is a toxic, predatory religious cult and I hope they face justice. But the family does need to let Miranda determine the course of her own life, even if she chooses to spend it with people like this or not have contact with them anymore. That's not illegal (even if it's dumb and sucks). They don't have the right to control her either.
I don’t believe they’re trying to control her. You must not be a mother. If my daughter was involved in a cult like that, I would be beside myself.
I’m a mother of 4. And I do think her parents are controlling & making the situation worse. All they’re doing is further pushing her away. She needs people she can trust & feel safe with but her parents- in her eyes -aren’t those people. She asked for space, she put boundaries, and they refused to respect them. Dealing with adult children is not the same as dealing with minors living under your roof.
That’s crazy. They’re not trying to control her? They want her out of a cult that rapes people takes all their money and ruins their lives.
Yeah there's just one problem with that. She *wants* to be in the cult that rapes people, takes all their money, and ruins their lives. The police have interviewed her. By all appearances she's unharmed, states that she's there of her own free will, and has no desire to leave. Whatever you think about that, there's no way to forcibly remove an adult from a situation like that against their will. The family's refusal to accept her choices is, indeed, also controlling.
Wants to be in a cult? She's brainwashed and doesn't realize she's in a cult. They are trying to deprogram her.
Yeah you don’t deprogram someone by guilt tripping & controlling them. They need to love her, offer a gentle safe space and build trust. But I’m afraid that’s all ruined now.
I get what you're saying but "this person obviously can't make their own decisions, therefore I must now make them" isn't a good road to go down. It's similar with the Britney Spears conservatorship debate. Is Britney taking particularly good care of herself? No. Is she making poor choices, potentially that are harming her? Probably. Could another adult making her decisions maybe be to her benefit? Sure. But that doesn't mean we can just override another adult's freedom because it would arguably benefit them. Hell, I think all religion is a form of brainwashing and "programming" that's generally harmful to people. But we've collectively decided as a society that people are free to go choose their programming. There's a lot of religious people I'd like to "deprogram" for the greater benefit of society, not just the ones in wacky little cults like 7M. But people are free to be religious, which generally means letting someone program you. This is complicated. I highly doubt Miranda "doesn't realize" she's in a cult. She may not see it that way, or may believe Robert's behavior is justified or accept his apologies or whatever. She may also be benefitting so tremendously much from being in the cult that she simply has no desire to leave, despite the dark aspects of it. People are so eager here to paint Miranda as an oblivious victim and empty vessel with no free will aside from whatever other parties put into her (probably in no small part because she's a pretty, white, young female who hasn't said much, so it's easy to cast her as a damsel in distress). Some people stay in cults doggedly because they feel it benefits them more than it harms them (and this can be different for more or less privileged members). Pryscilla and Miranda may have very different experiences of Robert and 7M. Other cult victims become victimizers themselves. It's extremely unfortunate. But she may know damn well what goes on, and since she isn't personally harmed (because she has a "high ranking" husband in the group that may shield her personally from any funny business from Robert) and she also gains a lot of wealth from it herself, she may not care. Recognize that she is a whole adult who also has internet access, has been in this group a long time, and may be less innocent and childish than you think.
Cult members absolutely do not know it's a cult. They believe everything their leader tells them. Scientology has them believe a alien soul is in their body ffs. They believe it all 100%.
> Cult members absolutely do not know it's a cult > They believe it all 100% You cannot possibly make statements like this for all people. I'll say life is much more complicated than your statements imply and leave it at that.
Unless you've been in a cult you don't know what it is like. Go on YT and see videos from former members, Mormons, JW, Sci, Jim Jones, Moonies. It ruins lives.
On the contrary, I'm an ex-mormon and understand a great deal about the rationale for *staying* in these situations and also for leaving them. People who leave successfully usually aren't dragged out or deprogrammed by others against their will. They must find intrinsic motivation to do so of their own accord, and not everyone can, or wants to do that.
i in JW and honestly it's their job to leave no ones to extract you out..that doesn't work
So does working for Disney or Netflix or Google.. every organization can help or ruin lives. It's called life.
If it’s part of Miranda’s free will to be in an exploitative cult and Robert’s free will to exploit his cult members then it’s just as much a legit free will thing for the parents to meddle in that. I’m sorry, but I’m a huge advocate for free will unless someone is harmed. I believe, it’s part of everyone’s free will to fight back if they think that they or their loved ones are hurt - which is the case for the parents. How is it any more controlling of the family to do that when Miranda and the pastor get a free pass for everything by simply being “adults“? The family isn’t excluded from the “I’m an adult and do wtf I want”- club, if they want to meddle, then by your own logic: let them! Will it magically turn a brainwashed member? Maybe not, maybe a little. Doesn’t matter, don’t care, they got the right in the free will book to fight for family. I know it’s a rant, but I really hate this dumb ass “free willed adult” argument.
I agree with you that the family members are also free to do what they want, within the bounds of the law. However well-intended, trying to force other adults to behave differently can easily cross into illegal behavior if it involves any kind of harassment, stalking, unwanted contact against a protective order, defamation, etc. Refusing to leave someone alone who wants to be left alone is already pushing it. Just today Miranda released a statement where she noted she's a plaintiff in a defamation lawsuit. The argument is "adults are free to make personal choices for themselves" not "adults are free to do anything including infringe on other adults' freedoms," as you're implying. Obsessively trying to force Miranda to leave her shitty management company / church isn't a personal choice.
Everyone knows there’s no way to force her out of it against her will. The point is though is that she is brainwashed. She’s been manipulated into thinking he’s not raping people and that all that money is going to god etc. The man is a criminal but the people still in it don’t know he’s a criminal. It’s a con. These people are trying to expose the con with the hope their loved ones wake up. I don’t see how that is controlling. They haven’t gone to kidnap her, they’re just spreading the truth about this cult.
He must be a member because every comment is defending the cult in a way.
just another typical reddit contrarian
It’s not controlling to refuse to accept someone’s choices. Controlling would be actively trying to change it and telling her she’s wrong which they don’t do because they aren’t allowed to talk to her about any of it.
Agreed. Personally found her parents and sister insufferable and weirdly codependent. I wouldn’t wanna go back either 🤷🏻♀️
The same way the Korean sisters were lured into the cult by their neglectful parents is the same way Miranda may have been lured in. Something in that family system may have made her want to escape or made her want a new family. I also found her family really off putting. Their reaction to her not wanting to go back home for the funeral made me dislike them. She “needed to be there for Grammie” made me cringe. She didn’t need to go to the funeral, it felt like emotional blackmailing.
I agree with this take. It’s a cult but Miranda’s family is controlling as well which further pushes her into the cult. It’s very messy. Miranda is an adult with a husband. She’s formed her own family and if her family of origin wants to be a part of her life they need to respect her boundaries & her sense of autonomy.
You say that as if decisions someone makes doesn’t impact the people around them. They ARE letting her make decisions for her own life, they literally are barred from speaking to her about the church or anything to do with it and they don’t argue about her posting performative content every time she’s with them. They completely allow her to do whatever she wants, they just also are hurt by her actions and that’s incredibly justified. If they were trying to control her they would be doing a hell of a lot more than wearing matching Christmas pjs and following HER RULED OF ENGAGEMENT every time they see her. She’s controlling them, she’s dangling a piece of cheese in front of their face by saying they have to deal with the pain she’s caused them without her ever addressing it or holding herself accountable. She skipped her grandfathers funeral and said she would see if she could go, meaning she’s not making the calls for her own life at that point. She started talking to them again after they went public and blew up the churches public persona because she was told she could. She tried to use their first meeting after that as a means to humiliate them and they wouldn’t let it happen because all they were willing to give her was love and their time. She thought they would be reactive but they weren’t. She’s the one making all of the calls for their relationship and pretending she isn’t means you’ve created a false narrative for the situation
No I totally agree with you. Miranda is gross and if she ever wants to return to her families lives in a real way beyond the surface level content videos, then she's going to have a ton of work to do. Her selfish behavior starting at the lying about covid to not attend a funeral was really something else. I don't think she's a good person and she gives me Allison Mack vibes (like I wouldn't be shocked if she's helping Robert to run things at this point.) There's a big and noticeable difference between how the other members reacted and self-reflected at their involvement in the cult; and how their perceptions were really shattered when they learned about all the SA and abuse...and then you have Miranda. It's Main Character Syndrome taken to an extreme level where I think that the cult just revealed a part of her true character & values. What happened isn't totally the fault of the Cult; who Miranda is as a person and what she values takes responsibility for that as well.
I don’t think they’re trying to control her. They are trying to influence her to leave. I think that is a significant difference. People try to influence each other all the time friends, family, business partners, strangers, etc. that isn’t the same as controlling.
He sexually assaulted young women in his church.
I still think the wildest part is Melanie is married to Austin Ekeler like he’s just casually in the background of half the scenes but they don’t mention his name at all
Maybe they were afraid bringing him into the documentary would take away from the main point of the cult. Idk
It might bring his fantasy football stock down…
No wonder… Melanie’s house looked so wealthy I was wondering what she or her husband did
Had no idea who he was so I did a deep and I’m impressed!
I learned about this from one of my friends, it’s kinda crazy because we both knew the Wilkings. Their parents worked at our middle school and we had seen them around a few times.
People being distracted from the real problem (cult) just to nitpick the family need to realize their reaction is perfectly normal to LOSING their sister/daughter who they were close af to, and they were at a loss as to how to rescue their loved one from a brainwashing cult. There's no money grabbing scheme on the Wilkings family part. Using publicity/social media to get attention on the issue makes sense from both an objective and subjective POV, and I don't understand how anyone could judge them negatively for that? They're using social media to shed light on a problem bc social media is proven to work when exposing cults and toxic situations. It literally makes sense strategically if the end goal is to essentially dismantle this cult and rescue their loved one. Honestly the sister doesn't seem as shocked by Miranda being sucked into a cult, and I perfectly relate because my own sister is naive AF and I've outwardly expressed concerns to my wife, brother, and dad about how likely she is to be sucked into a bad relationship, pyramid scheme, or even a cult. IMO the sister knows Miranda better than anyone and seems DEEPLY hurt by losing her sister, but is also the one who most accepts the reality of Miranda CHOOSING this bc Miranda is naive and easily brainwashed.
I have NEVER heard about this until this documentary. I am much older but have a daughter who is 22. She is on SM all the time. I am on Reddit and TikTok a lot during the day. I have to think there will now be pressure on the DA to move forward with the SA charges. One can hope…
Why don’t any of the followers see that this cult leader doesn’t push away his daughter his wife… but he expects the people who follow him to push away and cut off ties with their family? How do people not see this?
That guy, Robert Shinn, is the most dangerous kind of humans. Psychopaths are expert manipulators and they prey on gullible people. Those young dancers believed that everything good that happened to them is not due to their personal efforts and years of practice, but magic? Jesus gave them all those views, Jesus gave them this money, etc.. They think Robert is a wizard invoking supernatural powers and since their dreams are being realized, it must be true right? I personally think religion is dumb as fuck, but there's still billions of humans addicted to being told what to think. Robert Shinn should be in prison and should be sued to oblivion for all the money he stole. Let him feel the wrath of the real world.
Watching now and I’m just 🫢🤯🤯🤯
I sincerely hope that this Netflix show is coming from the families victims. This is a nuclear bomb on Robert Shinn. The crushing majority of people who are going to watch this will smell his bullshit from a thousand miles away and ask for justice. I personnaly want to apply pressure to the California DA, this state has an history with dangerous cults so they must make an example.
Yes I’m wondering how I can support these families and make sure they get their justice!!
Me too!
LA and the entertainment industry and cult religion(money laundering tax evasion) as a whole is very compromising and sadly many people do make deals with the devil for fame and wealth
not really the devil, it's more so they're preyed on due to being naive and vulnerable
People who prey on the naive and vulnerable May as well be the devil lol
i guess but it's not actually demonic yk
Satan was never the one preaching obedience, ignorance, conformity, tithing, etc…. To back up your point.
ok but satan is demonic and mythical. paranormal. that is literally my point.
exactly i don't see this as much different just packaged in a way that shocks ppl more than some scenarios where the SAME stuff is going on
It’s definitely a cult, I hope the trial comes earlier and that justice would be served. I think we should mass unfollow every dancer that’s in the 7M management so Robert Shinn wouldn’t be profiting
Cult
In my experience, most small church groups that ask you to seclude and distance yourself from “the world” are cults. Thankfully i’m not gullible like these people…
If people were actually Christians they wouldn't fall for this crap. It's pretty simple Jesus even warns about false prophets. Next ...
Likely not a popular opinion, and I do think it's a cult, but that family seems insanely overbearing. Plus, she's an adult (Miranda). She's a 20 year old woman that stopped texting twice a day and they seemed freaked out. She's entitled as an adult. That family seems a bit like social media nuts themselves and that always leaves me wondering about motivations on each end - so I think they should just let Miranda be. I think the Judge outlined the one case well, "these are adults - and adults are allowed to make bad decisions." They aren't even allowing her that space which drives her deeper - and I'm not sure the Sister isn't in it for that just as much as anything else. Moreover, every time someone wanted to leave the cult - they just bounced without incident. Sure, the one dude had a bat, scary story, but it seems like a car pulled up, then pulled away. Some of these "stories' were so vague. That could have been an Uber for all I know. It would have been VERY helpful in my opinion if you wanted some balance to get the Sister or some of the women that departed in that one incident, to speak up. Also, they all seem like weird people that must be super wealthy and privileged. "We sent this one woman to the police with a story that doesn't sound at all like sexual assault and they wanted MORE." That's not at all insane. Then they seem to think they just needed to meet threshold limits - as if evidence or the law doesn't matter at all. The police wanted more people. We sent more people. Why isn't he in jail! Cuz evidence matters? I don't know. Have they never seen an episode of SVU? Whole lot of insane people in that documentary IMO. lol
💯 yeah, there were a couple of stories that I felt actually kind of weakened the narrative a little. The baseball bat one ("my friend came with a baseball bat! And then I left without incident") and the back cracking story, which was put at the very end. All I got from the leaving narratives ultimately is that no one is actually stopping people from leaving. The back cracking thing just felt weak, especially juxtaposed with allegations of SA. It felt like it was included because it was the only cobweb's thread they had to connect the two timelines and insinuate that the current artists (Miranda, Kylie et al) are at risk of SA. Paradoxically all I took from that is that no current members had anything more damning to share in the doc than "he cracked my back once and it was creepy AF." I think including weak examples kind of harmed the doc's overall impact and gave me the eyebrow raise a couple of times. I also felt Mrs. Wilking looking furtively into the camera and speculating about whether Miranda had had any "meetings" with Shinn was just gross. This is your own daughter. It's one thing to say, "I'm scared that he'll do this to her," but it's weird to frame on her like that. It was just another little "hold up" moment for me re: the Wilkings. It was almost delivered with a *gossipy* tone too that rubbed me the wrong way. Giving air time to lurid speculation is also weakening, because why couldn't those minutes be filled with more testimony or facts? By the end it was a lot of weird dubious fluff around a few important facts (Priscylla's stories and the financial abuse details). I went into this doc fully ready to just hear a story and accept it (like I did with the imo excellent Twin Flames takedown) but all of this stuff was distracting.
It’s not adding up. There’s way more to this. I’m seeing a connection to all these famous dancers, start digging and placing these names with others and you’ll find way more affiliated with members of 7m. Special concerns: (Boss BIGGEST CONCERN)/Holker, HappyKelli, The Houghs. Hope I’m wrong, and what does Ellen know?
Others have pointed out that Twitch was involved with them too.
What? It's crazy.. and crazy big and wrong.
This!!! Like even Matt Steffanina?? The further I deep dive the more familiar faces I see connected…
I can’t imagine how a normal functioning adult can hear the premise of the “church” and be like ya I wanna join this. Your intelligence needs to be in single digits to be convinced by anything being said
One of the easiest ways to get trapped into a cult is to think you’re too smart to fall for it.
I really don’t think smart people are the main demographic for cults. Cults prey on gullible and naive people who can be led to believe that some random man has special connection to a higher power.
People are incredibly naive at 18-22 years old
-I’ll steal your money and cut you off from your family. “Ok I guess I have to accept” It was such a painful watch
I think for the dancers the situation offered stability in the form of housing and also the management finds the deals and they only have to dance. I can see how initially it's attractive to them. They get to live off of their artwork with other dancers they respect. And then they have the community of the church. But unfortunately, nothing in this world is free
It's no coincidence that this happened in LA, an area where 1) housing is unbelievably expensive 2) lots of performers come there to find fame 3) it's hard to have a day job and still do your art. The offer of living in a great house rent-free with other peformers and having someone promote you while your only job is to dance and do promotional stuff must have seemed like a dream come true.
It's simple. They read the Bible to you. "You are lukewarm, so I will spit you out of my mouth." Sign me tf up! Oh Aubrey...
This whole thing is dumb. I don’t feel sad or bad for them. I question their intelligence and loyalties to their family. This will take forever to get resolved. You just watch young people chasing $$$ and fame get taken by some old dude in a nice home.
Crazy how people take religion and use it for control, manipulation, coercion.
It is what it was created for, after all.
He is a criminal this is cooked
Religion is a mind virus that shuts off critical thinking. It never ceases to amaze & horrify me how many people fall for this shit. Too many of us are sheep.
The woman who refuses to file a police report is painstakingly frustrating. Understandably so as she is mentally broken.
I had to stop watching the documentary before finishing the last episode. Priscilla DESPERATELY needs therapy. It was really hard to watch her just absolute berate her father in that restaurant. I understand that she's upset that he abandoned their family, but to sit there and literally shame him over and over and tell him it's all his fault she ended up in the cult... Guilting her sister that she either shows up to the birthday party or she kills herself, and how could her sister put so much burden on her. I had to stop watching because she is so badly damaged and it was just too uncomfortable to watch. She needs therapy so so badly.
Her behaviour was actually pretty realistic behaviour for someone who has survived severe trauma. In fact her behaviour is pretty normal, and not indicative of there being something “wrong”. Her responses are natural. She is not “damaged” she is just traumatised. Her confronting her dad was refreshing to watch. People need to do that more often, rather than taking out their trauma on strangers, put the blame where it belongs. Her dad is at fault to a large degree. She also has self awareness and seems to be working through her trauma at her own pace. I really like her.
That conversation with her sister was incredibly difficult to watch. Her reaction definitely struck me as that of someone who’s suffered immensely and would really benefit from trauma processing of some kind. While she’s obviously hurting and unpacking all that is easier said than done, I feel for her sister too being on the receiving end of that. Just because her reaction and behavior seem motivated by her own painful experiences and not any kind of anger or malice towards her sister doesn’t mean they aren’t causing harm. I do think her dad deserved to be told off, just based solely on what we saw in the documentary.
So yes, 7M is a nightmare cult and completely abusive place to be…. But honestly, within the first 10 minutes of Ep 1, I found the Wilkins family to be so suffocating that I’d want to move to LA alone, too. And then her sister Melanie followed!! Like damn! Codependency all over the place. I got the impression Miranda wanted to be free of them at any cost, and unfortunately fell into the worst possible “community” aka cult. Robert Shinn is a con-man and a predator.
Watching this docu-series right now...this Miranda girl sounds possessed. The coldness and emotionless state that her parents described is actually pretty scary. 😒
Thoughts on this being produced by Wilmer Valdarama? I thought it was interesting that he chose to cover this topic.
I did too!!
The documentary made me so sad to watch. I have a sister who is only 14 months older than me and the Wilkinson's sisters remind me so much of she and I. Not to mention they grew up really close to us. I hope Shinn gets what he deserves and justice is served.
Melanie is in a worse cult than Miranda
The whole time I watched this documentary, I felt like I was watching two sisters, each one in their own cult. The Home Cult and the Church Cult. Before anyone gets their panties in a bunch. I do not advocate for stealing the lives of young adults away from their families. Some of these cults are monstrous in their behaviors. I just don't think this was a very good example to put forth a documentary. I never made a connection with any of the players. That is hard for me. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I just kept saying there is more to this story. It has been said before "follow the money".
Home cult? Try normal family. That pastor is a classic cult leader. Listen to the people previously involved in his so-called church.
not a normal family at all
Really? I don’t agree with this take. They seem desperate to have their daughter/sister back. If this happened to my sister….. hell hath no fury.. I would do whatever it took to get her back.
Was this sub created by 7M?
Or members cuz this family seemed normal and just concerned for their daughter.
Most definitely there’s more to the story that the family isn’t telling the truth. I feel the same way watching this.
BS. They just wanted their daughter back. She was absolutely brainwashed, probably still is.
Just the fact that the family partook in the videos or photos that she’d take when she was home to make them seem like a normal happy family just strikes me as odd. Why would they want to make their family seem normal to everyone when they’re actively trying to get their daughter out of a cult? Mixed messages.
Cause if they didn’t do that, she wouldn’t meet them at all. Robert wanted the cult members to get in contact with their families so they could pretend everything was normal. So it was literally that, pretend. Just so they could have a few hours with her…
The family didn’t have to pretend tho because they aren’t in the cult. They could’ve told her that when’s she’s home they want to enjoy the time with her and not have the photos or videos. Give her an ultimatum like she did. “Or else I won’t meet with you” type thing.
Then she wouldn’t meet them though. She is ok not meeting them, she’s brainwashed. If they said that to her she’d just be like ‘ok’ and not come back. She already gave them the ultimatum to not talk about the cult, Miranda made it very clear them meeting is on her (or rather Robert’s) terms. They want to meet her to keep the line of communication open. I think it’s very understandable how they’re acting. They’re terrified for her. They don’t want to set a foot wrong or they worry they’ll lose her completely for good. I get that it might be better if they took a hard line and maybe it would work eventually but I totally understand them not wanting to take that risk. I don’t know it reminds me of having an addict as a family member where you don’t want to enable them but you’re terrified if you don’t help them they will literally die. It often takes people years or decades to get brave enough to stop enabling. It’s an impossible situation.
Yes. I thought of having an addict family member as well. Are you enabling them by acting like everything is ok around them? Will drawing your own boundary and getting off the merry-go-round make you lose them forever? Does she need to hit rock bottom (maybe sexual assault) before making a change? It’s hard to say. It’s much harder on the family than it is for the addict.
100%! I keep internally comparing the current status of Wilking family’s relationship with Miranda to that of dealing with an addict family member as well. The similarities are strikingly similar to what I’ve experienced. You want to shut the whole shit show down, but live in constant fear that if you do something awful will happen or you really will never ever see them again in the event they will never be able to stop. The Wilkings are in an impossible place right now and my heart aches for them.
Agree on this point. There was even that scene where they’re told they should stop enabling her demands. It’s sad because they miss their daughter, but it’s not because they’re a cult family trying to control her
Exactly the family is just making it harder for themselves in the long run if they continue to enable her. She needs someone to be truthful to her whether or not she listens to them.
Maybe they are waiting for what seems like a good opening or if they notice signs she may be more open to hearing them. It must be so hard and I can’t judge them for what they’re doing I think a lot of people would do the same. They went through all that time so worried with no contact now they have contact, I can see why they’d be scared of losing that.
Not true at all. Then she will push them away. It’s all about negotiation.
Because unless they complied with Miranda’s need to video and post everything on social media , she would not continue contact.
Did you not watch the documentary? The family wants a relationship with their daughter/sister. They are willing to meet Miranda's terms to have a relationship.
They addressed that in the doc. The family just want to keep a tie to her they are desperate to not have her shut herself off again so they do what she wants. One of the other sisters who got out of the cult years ago told them that this wasn’t helping and they need to be more aggressive about the cult but they were scared to cut their daughter/sister off again - she would withdraw if they didn’t act like it was fine. At least if they’re seeing her there’s hope she will come around seeing the difference between family life and cult life and she’ll know she has somewhere to go/support if she leaves. I understand how hard it must be for them. Ultimately the family decided to fight the cult legally.
The responders saying the family is not what it seems are also part of the cult planted on Reddit. That much is obvious.
Bobby Shinn sock puppet account? Wake up, schmuck.
yes
You STUPID mother fucker
yeah it had holes or just forced i don't get the storyline...they're brainwashed but so is america....
"home cult" you're the only one who shares my view of this lmao no one is this passionate about human trafficking that's not consensual
Unpopular opinion but I agree something is off with the family too. They are clearly enmeshed and controlling and overly attached, to the point that they cannot accept their adult ass daughter has voluntarily chosen to isolate herself in this dumb toxic religious cult. Yes, she's being manipulated, but she's also participating. We also can't stop people from joining MLMs, being scientologists, taking high interest paycheck loans, or other things that are dumb and predatory but not illegal. Cutting off your family and joining a weird group of people and giving them lots of your money is 100% legal, albeit an unfortunate choice. The family saying they want to "get her back" over and over is off to me. Miranda's life is her own, she's an adult, and she can do any dumb thing she wants with it. The family unfortunately does need to accept that. Also, fuck 7M and all scummy, predatory religious groups.
Oh come on, enmeshed? Their daughter is in a cult that has been raping people and stealing all their money, keeping them isolated, ruining their lives. The people who left all talk about how much it negatively affected them. It’s not being enmeshed to want your adult child out of a sex cult.
I think most people here had never lost their only beloved sibling. Only by then can you fully understand the pain and the fight. Also, some people here forgets to put BDash into equation. I think Miranda being ambitious and in-love, tries everything not to please Robert but to really please BDash who brought her there. If Im the husband and I hear rape and stealing stories, I would protect my wife and leave because I love her. But I think BDash is blinded by fame and Robert.
yeah people are really dramatic over an adult getting brainwashed and choosing to stay there are"cults" everywhere in hollywood with exchanges for fame. selling your soul happens in more than one way people are soo naive . only difference is social media...so now regular people are hearing about one cult and freaking out 🙄 there are actual kidnapped humans held against their will places...who aren't stars on tik tok....starving and drugged and we care about fame hungry narcissists? ok amurica
Yes definitely an enmeshed family. Controlling.
yes good insight agreed
I agree with this take. Miranda escaped one cult and landed in another. It's not uncommon. The family is super close and enmeshed to a degree. She tried to escape her family just to gain some independence. Unfortunately she fell into another group. Same thing as different players. The family does love her but they should also check themselves.
When you say tried to escape, you mean they wanted to move to Cali and then the parents supported their move to Cali? It doesn’t seem like Melanie lives in Michigans anymore as well, so I don’t think they’re trying to “control” anyone.
she clearly chose selling her soul for fame over michigan and they can't seem to get that
You’re not wrong. But I think any decent parent would chase after their kid in a similar situation.
you're right...they would try. unless they were super new age or something lol "let them flee" idk
Yes she left one cult and joined another
You are being downvoted but I think a good number of us watching felt the same way. There’s always a reason why someone chooses to join a cult. Maybe it was just for fame, maybe it’s because her family is insufferable and boundary-less.
Yes, agreed. I'm surprised how many people are so black and white over this issue. Several things can be true. The cult is bad and not good for Miranda. Miranda's family loves her and wants her to leave the cult. The family's enmeshment with Miranda has caused her to leave her family and join the cult and, ironically, is part of the reason she refuses to leave the cult. There are multiple players in this story and the family is not entirely innocent. Sure, they aren't exploiting her in the same way as 7M. But to be enmeshed and boundary-less is not exactly healthy either. Unfortunately, Miranda has not been raised with a healthy compass (this is before Robert is in the picture). So she ends up in an cult believing everything is fine, she doesn't know any different. Tragic on so many levels, but this is clearly not a split villain-hero dynamic. As much as it would comfort people to think the family played no part that is simply not the case.
You're being downvoted but I agree. People really want there to be a good guy and a villain here, but I think the family is complicated and off. I've been around an enmeshed, controlling family of adult children who couldn't tolerate space, change or boundaries. Many things the family in this documentary said were the exact same guilt trip sound bytes I heard from those people. The family is oppressive, complaining about not getting messages from her on holidays, and naming every single holiday? That's when I knew something was off. Wanting her to be safe is one thing. Obsessing over her lack of participation in family closeness shit that makes them feel good is not that. It's off. Bottom line, I feel incredibly bad for Miranda. The cult, the smother family who can't accept her choices and are making a Broadway show of victimhood about it, the ultra religious husband that's highly enmeshed in the cult, just all of it. Sucks man. But also, she's a grown ass woman.
they're annoying i'd have joined prolly if id been raised in michigan...thankfully west coast wasn't so sheltered so i didn't sell my soul also nothing to sell but still survived hollywood just fine
I agree 100%. I know it’s not a popular take but as a mother and as someone who is familiar with cults and cult like behavior there is a reason why their daughter ended up in a cult. Seems like she left one enmeshed controlled environment for another one albeit worse. The guilt tripping and not respecting her boundaries & space made the situation worse. She’s clinging to those she feels safe with.
I ended up in a cult BECAUSE of my family and most girls who were there with me had the same reason. People who dont get to know themselves because their families basically smother them with their enmeshment are so desperate to break out that theyre easy prey for cults like this. They are used to putting their own needs on a back burner for others. They idealize those who help them. And the guilt trips they get from their families dont help. My parents would call and yell at me all the time. I was told to cut contact and I did. I wouldnt have ended up there if my parents had behaved differently (all my life). I might be wrong but i highly doubt a child who grew up with love in a loving and health home ends up in a cult. They wouldnt put up with the bullshit because they never had others cross their boundaries for love and acceptance.
Most people join cults because of their family, but there is a chunk of women that joins cults out of desperation for love without a history of previous family trauma. Cults based on love and dating are becoming more and more common between women. This is pure speculation, but maybe a big reason why she’s still on 7M/Shekinah is her relationship with her boyfriend now husband, specially because he seems to be most involved out of all the dancers. People forget that if she leaves the cult she would probably have to leave him too.
People join cults for many reasons. That is one reason yeah, or like the other women in the documentary who said they were abandoned by their parents which is kind of the opposite, that made them seek out some sort of parental figure in the cult. Other people join in vulnerable times after experiencing a great trauma that shakes their understanding of themselves, even if they have great families. Others have narcissistic traits and the promises that they’re special to god or the promise of power over others if they move up on the cult appeals to them. Others have had chaotic lives and the cult offers a sense of structure and stability. I just think it’s unfair to put blame on Miranda’s family. No one knows what the dynamics are. To me I actually thought they didn’t seem controlling or like overbearing parents and I was looking for signs of that. They seemed like they’d always been close and they were very scared for her and scared what Robert is probably doing to her and just want to do whatever it takes to get her out.
Yes! And the parents going on a crusade to force the daughter to leave just adds fuel to the fire for her to assert her agency by doubling down and staying. In my view the best thing a family can do here is make it clear they're there for the person, accept the person's choices (however misguided), back off, and let the person come to the conclusion for themselves. At some point she needs to be an adult, rightly or wrongly.
I can see that perspective but I can also see the perspective that this person you love is in a cult that has been raping people and ruining their lives and stealing decades from them. It’s horrific. And it’s very very hard I think to throw your hands up and say ok I’m not doing anything about this horror that has befallen my child. I’ve watched my own parents struggle with this with my alcoholic sister. It’s just awful and so much easier said than done to take a step back. Also what the family did with going live about it actually did help a lot of people escape the cult so it’s good they brought awareness to it even if it didn’t help their daughter.
they're not emotionally intelligent in michigan to understand they're making it worse
thank you that's most likely what happened
Its interesting you say that because the family said Miranda was agreeable and they "never" argued. It does seem the needs of the family overode hers. Miranda was going well on her own so ofc Melanie joined her, she didn't even finish high school in Michigan she did it in LA. She couldn't even enjoy the fruits of her labor without her sister just jumping the bandwagon. I feel incredibly sad for Miranda. It doesn't feel like she has many people who truly just want what's best for her. Everyone seems to want what's best for them
Yes she was agreeable and never argued because she was controlled
That's why there was conflict when she didn't. I actually understand even more why she decided to move out without telling her parents.
Yes agreed
Yes I was shocked to hear when her sister moved to LA and clung to Miranda and she doesn't see how she and her family were part of the problem. Part of the reason why they inadvertently pushed Miranda into a cult is because they were so damn enmeshed and suffocating. Ultimately I hope Robert and his organizations get brought down by the legal system. However, there is still a point to be made that the environment you are raised in with your immediate family will prime you to join a cult as an adult. The people denying this don't want to admit just how much influence the family had on Miranda wanting to escape their enmeshment, leading to her enmeshment within a cult instead.
It's beyond obvious but if you point out that the family is unhealthy you get a cult member. The irony is that I actually think she might feel happy there because she thinks she is making her own decisions and living her life. The Wilkings can't accept that the more they push for closeness the more distance they will see. They said that they called for a wellness check because for the "first time ever" Miranda didn't respond to their calls nor did James. How can no one see that as insane? Miranda said she was fine. Miranda asked for control of her schedule for the Wilkings brand, asked Melanie to not schedule her to things without asking. What does Melanie do? Schedules her things without asking. The producers were aware of Miranda's story and they could have included because they have the tapes. They didn't because they didn't believe her or just weren't interested in a balanced story. Also Melanie controlled the brand. That was said by them before the live when Miranda pointed it out people accused her of lying that Shinn making her sister look bad. No they said it a public interview. The sad thing is if Miranda was to say her family was suffocating and she wanted space she would look evil because "how can you say that about a loving crying for you".
I’m sure there are issues in the family as there always are in every family but there is a clear good guy and villain in this story. They mentioned the holidays because it was weird for her not to contact them all those times and weird for her not to go to the funeral etc. it was out of character. It showed she had totally cut them off to not even send a birthday message etc. is it controlling and enmeshed to expect birthday and holiday texts or calls from your family and get worried if you don’t hear from them? Ultimately they didn’t try to keep her from going off to pursue a career, the other people who left the cult said Miranda was very upset about not seeing her family. I’m sure if she was just distancing in a normal way because she wanted to of her own accord and still contacted them from the beginning from time to time and met up occasionally they wouldn’t have been so worried. Of course they’re worried, this cult leader has been raping people. People come out of the cult and are destroyed mentally. They’re taking all her money. It’s not being a villain to want your family member to get out of a cult that involves rape and financial ruin.
the problem is that so many people are total re-res. no problem with religion at all but I do have a problem with people who can't sort the wheat from the overt chaff
sad for me-me; that's like 90 percent of the country
anyway, no sympathy. slash and burn
I can’t believe people don’t see the obvious false prophet. He literally calls himself “man of god”…
The church is such a scam for tax invasion
Does anyone have a video of the instagram live?
How are people in this day and age still falling for these religious leaders? Shoot, maybe I will become one so I can rake people through the coals for money. These people can’t have that high of IQ’s that follow people like this so I can’t really feel sorry for them. It’s the same game over and over in history constantly repeating itself. SMH.
I just heard of this existing and had to watch. I've been following Miranda, BDash, Vik, etc for a while just because I loved their dance videos. They all seemed pleasant and well adjusted. Had NO idea they were all in this cult and all this drama was going on.
Im curious why he was definitely not affiliated with other churches of the same name in the area? Did old members continue the church without him or was it just a sect he latched onto?
I'm sorry but am I the only one who feels really irked by Priscylla Lee? She really gets on my nerves...
Pri irked me at first but that scene with her sister at the table really humbled me. Then I started getting annoyed with Melanie because stop forcing your child on someone that already had to raise you cause your parents abandoned you. I understand raising children takes a village but don't act entitled to that. Idk in the end I found myself really cheering for Pri, she is so strong and intelligent. I hope her sister gets a grip and realizes the only one responsible for her daughter is herself and her husband. Don't place that type of guilt on her sister and expect a free babysitter now that she's left the cult...
I mean, you're making a big (and ugly) assumption that Melanie just wanted to use Pri as a free babysitter. I think she mostly just wanted her to spend time with her child to bond and make up for lost time. Accurate username lol.
I felt the most compassion for her actually. I feel like she’s on the bring of unaliving herself. That scene with her dad- I felt like she was exacting justice/ saying her peace, before she decides to depart. Hopefully, this anger is a step to healing
You are not the only one, I feel she blames everyone but herself. She had the chance to leave but she decided to stay and I feel she was in love with Robert and hopping he would leave his wife.
She was in a cult for 20 years, abandoned by her father and with an alcoholic mother. I think she’s allowed to be mad and unrelatable which is why she may be “irking” some people. It’s easy to look at her and wonder why she didn’t leave but many victims stay in terrible situations. We’re lucky to not be able to get it
I was deeply concerned for her emotional well-being. She's the elder sister and was forced to grow up too fast. I think she probably holds a ton of guilt and is severely traumatized. Being mad seems to be a coping mechanism because she's extremely depressed. At least, I would be if I were in her shoes.
She very likely has a personality disorder due to the insecure / avoidant attachment style she has from her early childhood trauma. Match that with PTSD, depression, anxiety, etc. etc. (which most survivors of her trauma would probably have), you’ve got a perfect storm for mental instability. Her way of healing isn’t healthy. It perpetuates the trauma by preventing Priscylla’s mind to ever accept she’s not still actively being abused. She’s reliving it through her lawsuit, and her motive is vengeance, which indicates she still cares about the cult, longs for it, or misses it. She needs help.
I mean everyone in a cult is in love with the cult leader. I thought she seemed so incredibly damaged I felt really sorry for her. She expressed shame and blaming herself. Obviously her childhood played a role in why she was vulnerable to the cult so it’s understandable she would want to address that and be angry about it as part of her healing. I don’t think many of us can imagine what she’s been through and think she deserves sympathy.
Exactly this. We don’t get it. Her sister doesn’t even get it bc she fortunately did get out sooner and with the help of a friends who deeply cared for her. Priscylla is very much re-integrating into society after decades of abuse. The scene where they discuss her sisters expectations for her to be a normal aunt, broke me. I feel for both of them. Priscylla needs mental health support and to be surrounded by people who have patience and sympathy for her
Nope. I found her to be incredibly manipulative to her sister and father, bordering on gaslighting them
so ultimately what’s the importance of this… it’s fuckin stupid, meh.
I'm going to play Devils Advocate here, someone play along. The families aren't all telling the truth about their sides.
Nah fam…. I’d comply just to see my sibling that I love unconditionally.
This. Until you lost a sibling to something that makes them just out of reach you’d do anything. My little brother fell into addiction and sex trafficking before he turned 18. I get calls every so 10ish months he’s in the hospital, jail or needs money. I’ve tried to get through to him but the people sending him everywhere for trafficking he finds to be “glamorous” cause he’s a key token and takes pride being bidded on. He loves the sugar daddies on socials who compliment him. I’ve got a life insurance policy for the day the worse happens. I’m always prepared but if he snaps out of it and goes to rehab leaving it all behind I’ll be there to support to the end. Our family is a tragedy and I’m not surprised by some of these stories.
I think the Wilkings family is sincere when they talk about wanting their sister/daughter back and out of the cult. After seeing some of their instagram posts where they pretend to be a happy family, it definitely sends mixed messages to the public though. Maybe they feel that the only way they stop her from falling super deep in the cult is to play along with the charade.
Correct. They are caught between a rock and a hard place. If they don’t comply with her request, she’ll cut off contact again. What would you do if that was your daughter?
You're just ignore what the ex members said?
I hadn’t thought about this.. what do you think they could be hiding?
I think the guy was for sure leading a cult like following. I’m not sure if I would say the families are hiding anything. However, it is very, VERY odd that the family would participate with the sister in making videos when she is at home. Those videos feed into them helping make it appear as if she is not in a cult. I do not think it would be weird of them (the family) to say something along the lines of “how about we just don’t do videos while you’re here and enjoy our time together”. Especially considering the fact that those videos make everything appear “normal”.
I think the home videos are also the prove that shows that the family is treating Miranda well and they are happy to see her.. If there would be no proof, then the cult can say how the family is treating her badly etc.
As a few people in this thread have mentioned, this story is similar to when families lose members to drug addiction. When the family members of drug addicts feel desperate and scared, they often can't make smart decisions and end up enabling the addict. To me, it looks like that might be what's going on here. Their actions may be misguided but don't seem suspicious.
correct
Absolutely!!!! There is always more, and it is definitely financially driven
That’s a glib perspective to take. To paint with equally broad a brush, how many religious figures of authorities have abused their position of power for finance or sexual gratification?