Korean Sisters’ Dream Becomes Cult Nightmare In Netflix’s “Dancing For The Devil” Docuseries
Content Warning
Netflix‘s new docuseries, Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, delves into the TikTok dancers of 7M Films, a Los Angeles management company accused of cult-like practices. The docuseries begins with the Wilking Sisters, Miranda Derrick and Melanie Wilking, but long before these sisters became entangled with 7M, another pair of sisters fell prey to the man who spearheaded the company, Robert Shinn.
Robert Shinn founded Shekinah Church in Los Angeles, California, in the 1990s as a church and community for Korean Americans. In 1999, sisters Melanie Lee and Priscylla Lee joined Shekinah Church and were forced to live in a house with other church members.
There were maybe 15 people, and that included [Robert Shinn’s] family and his sister Catherine’s family.
— Melanie Lee
At first, it was a dream. The sisters felt a sense of belonging and stability at Shekinah Church that they did not feel at home. Their mother often went out partying for days on end, leaving them alone, and they were estranged from their father. The initial warmth, however, faded away once Robert Shinn began controlling their lives.
In the docuseries, Melanie Lee recalled a group of young women interrupting a sermon to accuse Robert Shinn of sexual assault, sexual coercion, and manipulation by using their faith against them. In response, the pastor spun the narrative for his congregation in a way that made it seem as if the women had seduced him.
Melanie Lee, who left Shekinah Church in 2011, became a victim herself of Robert Shinn’s sexual misconduct after that incident. She said the pastor, who was married, made sexual advances in an attempt to make her his mistress. He told her she must “pay [her] price” like other loyal members.
In addition to this, she said Robert Shinn gave her three days to consider having sex with a male member of the church. Not wanting to find out what would happen after those three days were up, Melanie Lee’s friend Marque immediately showed up at the shared house with a baseball bat and helped her leave. She tried to persuade Priscylla to leave with her, but Priscylla refused; she was convinced she would be damned to Hell if she left.
Mel – i’m so inspired by your courage🖤👑🖤 #DancingForTheDevil #NowStreaming #Netflix #7M pic.twitter.com/s23HVTMBUT
— Marque Richardson (@SilkyRiiich) May 29, 2024
Following Melanie’s departure, Priscylla says Robert groomed then sexually abused her for ten years. She would vomit, sickened by her sexual encounters with Robert, but he told her that she was vomiting because he was purifying her.
I hated it, but I felt the need to repent.
— Priscylla Lee
It wasn’t until Robert married his fourth wife, Hannah Shinn, that Priscylla finally fled. She said Hannah would harass her, and when that harassment escalated into an assault, she knew she had to get out. Having been brainwashed into believing her sister was cursed, it took Priscylla months to reunite with Melanie.
As of now, Robert Shinn has denied all allegations of sexual abuse and financial misconduct. The Lee sisters have been working together for years to sue the pastor for allegedly putting church members to work as employees for his businesses and stealing their earnings.
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