Now Spin is seeking compensation for her lost wages and she has filed court documents to hold Salt N’ Pepa accountable for their “new math”.
Details below…
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, DJ Spinderella (real name Deidra Roper) is suing Pepa (real name Sandra Denton) and Salt (Cheryl James).
The suit explains the trio started recording and performing as SNP back in the mid-1980s. Spinderella says she helped launch the group to be the success they are today.
The band went into hiatus in the late 1990s but she continued promoting the band. She claims things got weird in the early 2000s when she learned of a compilation album being released.
She says Pepa told her they would pay her $125,000 but that never came.
The lawsuit also notes that “By the early 2000s, the Defendants discussed with Roper an SNP reunion which would have possibly involved, among other things, a television show based on the legendary female group’s rise to stardom.”
Spinderella claims they promised her a one-third cut of profits but that check never came either.
They group then signed onto a VH1 show, “known as ‘The Salt N Pepa Show,’ which was aired with numerous episodes featuring only Defendants James and Denton.
According to the suit, Roper “was invited to appear—only as a guest—on several episodes of the Salt N Pepa television show for minimal compensation” i.e. they got paid… Spin, didn’t.
But wait… there’s more!
Spinderella continued working with Salt and Pepa over the years for tours and other events. Apparently she knew something was amiss with her check because Spin says that she always had to questioned the money she received but was told she was being paid the full cut.
Spinderella says she was scheduled to do a Las Vegas residency with the girls from the Fall of 2018 through the Spring of 2019. She was to be paid per show but claims the payments were not paid on time or regularly.
It seems that once she complained about her money, she got a written notice of termination from the band’s attorneys.
Spinderella also says her former bandmates have recently begun negotiations with Lifetime about a miniseries on the band, without telling her a thing.
Spinderella claims their actions of interfering with her plans to do a Vegas residency. She also takes issues with allegedly not being paid all her royalties.
The popular female DJ is demanding unspecified damages, accounting for all their royalties and work and for an injunction prohibiting Salt and Pepa from using her name or likeness.