Two of Robert Shinn's Children Have Left the Church He Founded

In May 2024, Netflix dropped a documentary about a possible cult that involved influencers, TikTok, dancing, and a church that was founded in 1994. Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult takes a look at Robert Shinn and the two organizations he founded and has full control over — 7M Films and the Shekinah Church. The documentary features interviews with former dancers who were represented by 7M and joined the church. The dancers claim that Robert took advantage of them.

If this is indeed a cult with Robert as its leader, it differs from other cults in a few ways. First, Robert reportedly isn't a charismatic man at all. Many believe everything he did was rooted in a desire to be rich and he seems to crave financial control. He is also a father whose kids were either involved in the church, the production company, or both. Here's what we know about Robert Shinn's children.

Robert has three children but only one of them, his son Isaiah, has managed to carve out his own piece of the entertainment world. According to Business Insider, Isaiah began working as a production assistant for his father when he was just a teenager. By 2018 he had his own company, HiFreq Films, and now primarily works in commercials and dance videos where he "developed a kinetic, high-energy shooting style well suited for social media," says the outlet.

Within a year, Isaiah was working with a steady roster of 12 dancers he found via social media. They had previously worked with artists like Beyoncé and Janet Jackson, or popped up on shows such as So You Think You Can Dance. To no one's surprise, they were all Christian or were interested in exploring Christianity further.

As the COVID-19 pandemic arrived and effectively shut down the country, the dancers were able to keep going thanks to the help from Isaiah and Robert who founded 7M Films together in July 2021. Some might ask why successful TikTokers would need a film company and the answer is simple, the Shinns gave them expensive equipment, hair and makeup, as well as locations that took their content to the next level.

During this time, Robert's daughter Chloe was also helping with music but she later parted ways with the company as well as the church. She wasn't Robert's only child to leave the company and the church.

Chloe Shinn, who performed under the name Kloë Julynn, is a singer-songwriter who was once part of a record label founded by her father. In October 2018, she spoke with Hype Magazine about her music which at the time, had been featured on Dancing With The Stars, Love & Hip Hop, The Real Housewives, Queer Eye, and The View to name a few. Chole told the outlet she began playing piano at the age of 10 and three years later, picked up a guitar to support her "love of songwriting."

She is mentioned only a few times in the documentary but her updates are being monitored by Katie Paulson who hosts the Without a Crystal Ball podcast. Paulson has been following Robert and the cult allegations for a few years and is a producer on the Netflix documentary. In August 2022, she posted a message from Chloe and her husband Daniel Joseph, who was previously Robert's right-hand man, about leaving the church.

Chloe and Daniel Joseph had been married for seven years at the time and he was the second-in-command to Robert. This statement must have come as a shock to their community. The couple stated that "at the beginning of May of this year, we parted ways with Shekinah Church and have no business with any company connected to the church or its associates." They also said they were no longer working with or being represented by 7M Films, their contacts, or associates.

Three months later, Paulson posted a message from Robert's other son Conrad, which she took screenshots of from Facebook. Conrad claimed that he was disowned by his father for not "falling in line with the rest of his church members," but was not afraid to speak up. He addressed several things including the accusations that Robert started a cult. Conrad said that is not true, he is merely a mentor to his clients.

Conrad denied any sexual assault allegations against his father and suggested that Robert might be autistic because he is. Evidently, according to Conrad, Robert is living with high-functioning autism and "75 percent of kids with autism inherit it from their father." Essentially he isn't denying that his father might have sexually assaulted people. Instead, he's saying Robert is autistic and might have a high libido he simply can't handle.

Finally, Conrad assured anyone reading that Isaiah was never a cult recruiter. He was just an "aspiring film director," who often helped dancers for free to gain experience and bolster his contacts. Wow, Conrad just took us on a wild and insulting ride.