Key Takeaways
- Deidra “DJ Spinderella” Roper says she’s now in a “good space” with Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton as they reunite for the It’s Iconic Tour, their first time touring together since their messy 2019 split.
- The reconciliation follows years of bad blood that included Spinderella learning via email she’d been dropped from shows, a lawsuit over unpaid royalties and fraud that ended in a confidential settlement, and her public criticism of Lifetime’s Salt-N-Pepa biopic for sidelining her role in the group.
- Spinderella says the trio is finally “on the same page” as Salt-N-Pepa’s legacy gets formal recognition, including induction into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame, calling their journey “blood, sweat, and tears” and this reunion “a really big moment.”
After years of lawsuits, public disagreements and one particularly brutal termination email, Spinderella says she and Salt-N-Pepa have finally found their way back to each other. Deidra “DJ Spinderella” Roper told People that she is currently on good terms with Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton as the trio prepares to reunite onstage for the It’s Iconic Tour.
“We’re in a good space today. I said today,” Roper said. “It’s a sisterhood, and sometimes it’s good, and sometimes it’s not so good.”
That “today” carries some weight. The upcoming tour marks the first time in years that Spinderella has toured alongside Salt-N-Pepa after their relationship fractured spectacularly in 2019.
“They’ve been doing shows. I’ve been doing my own thing, but us coming together, this is a really big moment,” she said. “So we’re doing okay. We’re doing good.”
Spinderella joined Salt-N-Pepa in 1987 and became an integral part of the pioneering group as it helped push women in hip-hop further into the mainstream.
The split quickly became more than a personnel dispute: Spinderella later sued James and Denton, alleging unpaid royalties, fraud, breach of contract and intentional misrepresentation. The parties ultimately reached a confidential settlement.
The bad blood didn't disappear with the lawsuit. When Lifetime released its Salt-N-Pepa biopic in 2021, Spinderella blasted the project for depicting a history she helped create while, she said, excluding her from its development. James and Denton maintained that they had contacted Roper and said the film primarily centered on their friendship.
At the time, Spinderella sounded nowhere near reconciliation. “The relationship is over,” she said. “I’m not closed off to [a reunion], but I will be respected. I will be treated fairly. ... I will never be in a group that does not want to be with me.”
Five years later, that door is apparently open. Spinderella isn't saying what happened privately to repair the relationship, but she says the three women are finally “on the same page.”
Their reunion also arrives as Salt-N-Pepa's legacy continues to receive institutional recognition. Roper recently celebrated the group’s induction into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame, reflecting on how their records became a “soundtrack” for generations of listeners while inspiring women both behind the microphone and behind the turntables.
Spinderella isn't pretending the road there was smooth. “It hasn’t been pretty a lot of times,” she acknowledged, describing the group's history as one built through “blood, sweat, and tears.”
But after a period when she publicly declared their relationship finished, simply seeing Spinderella, Salt and Pepa preparing to share a tour stage again represents a dramatic shift.
“This is a really big moment,” Roper said.
