This past weekend Lifetime premiered the biopic titled Salt-N-Pepa, a story of the careers of rap’s first Grammy-winning, platinum-selling all-female group. The film was co-produced and written by Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton.
Prior to the film’s release on Friday, January 22, “DJ Spinderella” Deidra Roper took to Twitter to share her thoughts on the upcoming project. “Sorry but I gotta speak on this Lifetime special…, Too often, Black women who have made meaningful contributions in their industry are left out of historical narratives.” She went on to say that “Words cannot fully express my disappointment when I learned a decision was made to move forward with a Lifetime biopic that wrongfully excluded me from every aspect of development and production…”
Words cannot fully express my disappointment when I learned a decision was made to move forward with a Lifetime biopic that wrongfully excluded me from every aspect of development and production…
— Spinderella (@Spindeezy) January 22, 2021
In 2019, Roper was fired from the group for unknown reasons and filed a lawsuit months later. The case was dismissed in July of 2019. The confidential settlement did not mend the bond between the three. Although Roper has not been a member of the group for two years, she still feels it is necessary to share her voice. She says, “Back when Salt n’ Pepa was building our legacy, which is rooted in empowering women, I could not have dreamed that this same group would one day disempower me.” Roper went on to say she could not support the film because it was unacceptable to silence her voice.
On Jan. 21, Salt-N-Pepa did an interview with “The Breakfast Club,” where they spoke on their issues with Roper. Salt also added that Salt-N-Pepa was an already established group when DJ Spinderella was added by their producer Hurby Azor. She went on to say, “Spinderella was an addition to what we already had created.” Salt continued, “There’s always been a lot of attempts to compromise, satisfy on everybody’s part, and it just never got to a place where it was what she thought it should be. And so sometimes things come to a head. It’s unfortunate. I know everybody hates when a group breaks up … but internally, sometimes it gets to a point where you have to part ways. We wish Spinderella the best. We’re open to whatever can happen in the future.”
Spinderella also shared with her followers news of an upcoming memoir she calls “a personal journey navigating through life, relationships and the industry that raised me.”
The DJ who joined Salt-N-Pepa as a teenager, sixteen to be exact adds, “I’m grateful I’ve managed to uphold a 30-year career of truly empowering women with my gift, against all odds. This will continue in my work and in my service.”
What are your thoughts on Spinderella being excluded from the Salt-N-Pepa Lifetime biopic? Share your comments @bsm_mag.
Photo Credit: Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images
