Earlier this afternoon Lifetime has released its new movie Salt-N-Pepa, which, as the name suggests, is a biopic about the ups and downs of careers from rap’s first Grammy-winning, platinum-selling all-female group. Unlike some Lifetime projects that have crept out of the woodwork over the years, Salt-N-Pepa is largely authorized – that is, it was produced and co-written by both Salt and Pepa (and co-produced by their longtime friend Queen Latifah), but not, revealing by the trios former third member, D.J Spinderella. That probably has a lot to do with the fact that Spinderella (aka Diedre Roper, who joined the group shortly after the first album came out in 1985), and who has worked as a DJ for over 30 years) was fired from the group in 2019, after which she sued Salt and Pepa on allegations of unpaid royalties. (The lawsuit eventually went to mediation.)
Given its integral role in The success of the group, it is not surprising that Roper appears in the film, played by Monique Jasmine Paul. Unsurprisingly, the real Roper isn’t especially happy with her inclusion, without participation, in the film, today going to Twitter to write that among other things “Words cannot fully express my disappointment when I learned that a decision had been made to proceed with a lifelong biopic that falsely excluded me from every aspect of development and production … ”(She spoke kind words for Paul.)
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Coincidentally, Salt and Pepa spoke (slightly obliquely) this week about Spinderella’s removal from the group. To talk with The breakfast club yesterday Cheryl “Salt” James insisted that she and Sandra “Pepa” Denton were already well-established when Spinderella was added to the group by producer Hurby Azor, and that was Roper always one “Addition” to an established dynamic dating back to the duo’s high school years. Not particularly difficult to read between the lines, tthe obvious implication is that Spin was never, and never would be, an equal member of the partnership, and that certainty ultimately led to her dismissal. (You can watch this part at 2:35 PM in the video below.)