Longtime member DJ Spinderella has been fired from Salt-N-Pepa, XXL reports. The DJ, who had been with the group since 1987 and contributed to mega-hits ranging from “Whatta Man” and “Shoop” to “None of Your Business,” announced Thursday on Instagram that she’d been told in an email back in January that she could no longer perform with the group.
The announcement comes as a shock to many fans. The group is booked for the New Kids on the Block Mixtape tour, which is just starting; and Ladies’ Night, a BET docuseries that follows Salt-N-Pepa as they prepare for their Las Vegas residency, premiered on Tuesday.
“I’m deeply saddened to share with all the #SaltnPepa and #Spinderella fans that I will not be performing on the #NKOTB Mixtape Tour,” Spinderella wrote. “Despite my participation in promoting the tour and being highly publicized as one of the acts, in January 2019 I received a ‘termination’ email from #SaltnPepa excluding me from performances with the group. It was my expectation, after making that decision, that they would also take responsibility for sharing the news with the public and other affected parties. It has been months now with no mention. Out of love for my fans and a commitment to upholding a standard of professionalism, I’ve taken it upon myself to let everyone know.”
Born Deidra Roper, Spinderella is actually the second deejay to bless the turntables for Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton. The group’s original DJ in the mid-’80s was Latoya Hanson, who was on the 1986 debut album, Hot, Cool, & Vicious, but unseen in videos. Roper replaced Hanson within her first year on the job, amid allegations of Hanson “clashing personalities” with the emcees. Roper has since been widely known as the third member of the classic all-girl group, which has gone on to win several accolades, including a 1995 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, the first for an all-female rap group. There’s been no word on why Roper was terminated.
Correction: Sept. 19, 2019, 9:40 p.m. ET: This story has been edited to remove unattributed text and to add fuller sourcing.