Deidra “Spinderella” Roper, the illustrious DJ from the iconic hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa, is making sure she won’t be silenced and erased.
On Friday morning leading up to the Sunday night premiere of Lifetime’s biopic titled Salt-N-Pepa, Spinderella decided to speak up about the film chronicling the lives and career of Cheryl “Salt” James (GG Townson) and Sandra “Pepa” Denton (Laila Odom).
“Sorry but I gotta speak on this Lifetime special…,” Spinderella began in what would become a Twitter thread on the issue. “Too often, Black women who have made meaningful contributions in their industry are left out of historical narratives.”
“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 wrote.
In a recent press conference for the film, Salt and Pepa pointed out that the film was about spotlighting women who thrived in the male-dominated hip-hop industry.
“I think that [it’s about] telling the story of women in the music industry, the ups and downs, the challenges we’ve overcome,” Salt said at the time. “And the challenges that we faced constantly as females in a male-dominated field of music. But mostly [it’s a] story of success, of pushing through regardless of the circumstance and still maintaining the status of the iconic brand.”
However, as Spinderella noted when she began her Twitter thread, it was that very mission of woman empowerment that made it that much more difficult to accept what happened in her relationship with the group. As such, the DJ-rapper-producer confirmed she would not be supporting the Lifetime film.
“There’s nothing more unacceptable than a woman being silenced by another woman. It is for this reason, I will not be supporting it,” Spinderella continued.
Nevertheless, Spinderella did take a moment to give grace to the actress who portrayed her likeness in the film.
“I do, however, want to offer a huge congratulations to the talented actresses that represented us, including Monique Paul, who I wish [I] would’ve been given an opportunity to share my true perspective with,” she added.
Spinderella ended the thread noting that she is in the process of writing her memoir that will reflect “a personal journey navigating through life, relationships and the industry” over the past 30 years.
The Root has reached out to representatives for Cheryl “Salt” James, Sandra “Pepa” Denton and Lifetime for comment in regards to Deidra “Spinderella” Roper’s tweets.