DJ Spinderella Slams Salt-N-Pepa Biopic for ‘Wrongfully’ Excluding Her Contributions

DJ Spinderella (Credit: Instagram)

Spinderella is making it clear, she does not support Lifetime’s new Salt-N-Pepa biopic.

The group’s former DJ shared her frustrations in a statement on Instagram Friday — the day before the movie’s premiere — saying her contributions to the chart-topping rap act were “wrongfully excluded” from the film.

“Too often, Black women who have made meaningful contributions in their industry are left out of historical narratives,” she began. “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.”

Related Story: Salt Says Lifetime’s ‘Salt-N-Pepa’ Movie ‘Opens Up Old Wounds’ (Video)

The DJ, whose real name is Deidra Roper, was featured on the group’s biggest hits. While Spinderella states that she “played an integral” role in Salt-N-Pepa’s success, she says that’s not what is shown in the movie.

“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… all the while using my image throughout, given that I played an integral role in the group’s story and success,” she said.

Spinderella Statement
(Instagram)

Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandy “Pepa” Denton are executive producers on the movie, which stars G.G. Townson and Laila Odom. Spinderella is portrayed by actress Monique Paul, who has a small role in the film.

Despite her disappointment, Spinderella praised the movie’s cast.

“There’s nothing more unacceptable than a woman being silenced by another woman. It is for this reason, I will not be supporting it,” she said in her statement. “I do, however, want to offer a huge congratulations to the talented actresses that represented us, including Monique Paul, who I wish would’ve been given an opportunity to share my true perspective with.”

Lifetime did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As Urban Hollywood 411 previously reported, Cheryl “Salt” James said during the film’s virtual press junket that there were things left out for legal reasons.

“There definitely were a lot of legal limitations,” she said. “That was a hard hump to get over. It’s hard to put 35 years into a two-and-a-half-hour film. I felt there were so many things that we wanted to do and wanted to say that we weren’t able to.”

In May 2019, Spinderella released a statement saying she received a “termination email” from Salt-N-Pepa. Three months later, reports surfaced that she was suing the group over alleged unpaid royalties.

Salt-N-Pepa the movie premieres Saturday, Jan. 23 at 8 pm ET/PT on Lifetime, followed at 11 pm ET/PT by a documentary titled Salt-N-Pepa Interview Special, hosted by Loni Love.

Listen to James’ comments from the junket below.