DJ Spinderella says 'relationship is over' with Salt-N-Pepa, calls biopic exclusion 'insulting'

DJ Spinderella is elaborating on the state of her friendships with Salt-N-Pepa members Cheryl "Salt" James and Sandra "Pepa" Denton, after having been excluded from participating behind-the-scenes in Lifetime's biopic about the Grammy-winning female rap group.

"The relationship is over," Spinderella, whose real name is Deidra Roper, said in a Billboard interview published Thursday.

In regards to a potential reunion for the trio, she said "the only way something like that would happen is if we get this business handled and that they offer an apology to me.

"When you have a legacy, you want to make sure that would outweigh this stuff. So I'm not, you know, I'm not closed off to that, but I will be respected. I will be treated fairly," she continued. "I will never be in a group that does not want to be with me."

Salt-N-Pepa:DJ Spinderella says she was 'wrongfully excluded' from participating in Lifetime's Salt-N-Pepa biopic

Roper went on to describe her disappointment of feeling "not needed," despite Salt-N-Pepa's legacy "to uplift women."

"How are we going to uplift women if we can't uplift each other? How does that make me feel, that you make me feel that I'm not needed. ... That's not uplifting," she said, adding that her exclusion from the biopic was "insulting."

The rise and impact of the rap group were dramatized in the Lifetime movie "Salt-N-Pepa," which premiered Jan. 23. In it, James and Denton, played respectively by G.G. Townson and Laila Odom, record a tune for a co-worker's class project and ultimately end up being Grammy Award-winning artists who help change the genre. Directed by Mario Van Peebles ("New Jack City," "Empire") and executive produced by Queen Latifah, it also featured Monique Paul as Spinderella.

On Wednesday, James appeared on "The Real" to reveal that she had reached out to Roper.

"I feel like this is very unfortunate. We’ve come to a crossroads where we have decided to agree to disagree. I definitely am open and Pepa’s open. We’ve talked about it and our hearts are open, have always been open to Spinderella. As far as the public is concerned, I’m really happy about the people who know that they don’t know everything. There’s six sides to every story. We just hope that we can come to some sort of resolution in the future. You never know. You never know what God is doing.”

Denton also clarified that the project's main focus was "the friendship of Sandy and Cheryl back in college."

“I just wanted to add to that, but I do want to clear up, there is a part that when Spinderella did say we excluded her," Denton said. "That part, Salt and I did reach out to consult with the movie. But yes, Spinderella joined us, a part of it."

She continued: "We will always acknowledge her contribution that she’s done with us. She will always be our sister. We love her, but we have always made sure that she had the opportunity and the platform. We always encourage her to be Spinderella and be supportive of her, so that is important.”

Roper previously shared her grievances about the group in January, tweeting that there is "nothing more unacceptable than a woman being silenced by another woman." 

Contributing: Hannah Yasharoff