For as long as the entertainment industry has existed, there have been predators who prey on potential stars. And today's online entertainment industry is no exception, but even the most cynical viewer may be surprised at how horrifying the story is behind Netflix's new revelation about a hidden system exploiting TikTok.
Dancing for the devil: the 7M TikTok cult focuses on a management company that represents a group of prominent TikTok dancers. But the show claims that the organization is more of a cult than a company, and the documentary describes abusive behavior and terrible tactics that former members say were used by the company and its founder, and the lengths the families of those had to go to. dancers to help. they escape.
What is the 7M TikTok cult?
The 7M here is not a number, but a company: 7M Films, Inc, formed by church pastor Robert Shinn. According to the documentary, 7M and Shinn – who threatened the production with legal action, according to Katie Joe Paulson, who appears on the show – operate much like a religious cult, using the promise of stardom to recruit potential superstars. in your organization. Once they become part of the 7M family, former members say, they are separated from their friends and family and placed in an “unsafe environment” where they are exploited.
Netflix is not the first media company to focus on 7M. Rolling Stone reported on the allegations against the company in 2022, allegations that were the subject of a lawsuit against the management company the following year. As Rolling Stone explained onlinethe dancers “claimed that the owner brainwashed them, exerted economic and physical control over them, and demanded that they 'submit' to him.”
What's quite sad about this story is that, while it's horrible, it's also terribly familiar: the film and music industries are full of stories of starlets who sign bad deals or end up with abusive management, whose desire Being famous nullifies your ability. to spot the sharks swimming in any industry where big money can be made. And that means there will be many more young people dancing for demons in the months and years to come.
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