The 7M TikTok Cult’ Director Explains Wild Netflix Documentary Interviewing Leader Robert Shinn

 The 7M leader is Robert Shinn, a self-proclaimed “man of God” who is a pastor at an invite-only church called Shekinah. However, he uses his power to prey upon his members and abuses them verbally, emotionally and psychically. Members who escaped 7M shared their stories of heartbreak and grief under the leader in the doc. One former member, Priscylla Lee, currently has a lawsuit against Shinn and other Shekinah members.

Executive producer Jessica Acevedo says she first heard about 7M in February 2022 from Tim Milgram, who owns dance studio TMilly TV in North Hollywood, Calif.

“[Milgram] was telling me about 7M and how it’s created a lot of buzz in the dance community, and that one of the families, the Wilkings, had gone live [on Instagram] doing a cry for help, and a call to action if there’s anyone else that was affected by it,” Acevedo told Variety. “Like everyone else, I watched the live and was like ‘What the heck is going on here?’ and then got on the phone with the Wilkings later that evening, and we ended up talking for quite a few hours.”

That conversation with the Wilkings prompted Acevedo to reach out to more people and establish relationships Shinn’s victims before she partnered with Netflix for the project. When Acevedo met with director Derek Doneen, they were “kindred spirits” sharing the same vision for the project and took it very seriously when victims were trusting them to tell their stories.