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A judge recently made a decision in Salt-N-Pepa’s favor in their legal battle with their former DJ, Spinderella. Spinderella, born Deidra Roper, filed a lawsuit against the two femcees alleging that while she was a member of the trio there were multiple breaches of contract, fraud and intentional misrepresentation. The case is now being moved to mediation so it can be settled without going to trial.
“A U.S. District Court Judge in the Dallas District today rejected DJ Spinderella’s requests for immediate relief against Salt-N-Pepa and its management, ordering the case to mediation. We are grateful for the judge’s ruling as Salt-N-Pepa have been extremely generous to Spin over many decades and attempted to settle what amounts to a divorce, both peacefully and without rancor,” Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra Pepa” Denton said in a statement to People. “Unfortunately, Spin and her legal team adopted a scorched earth approach that brought unnecessary attention to a business dispute that all along could have, and should have, been settled amicably and privately.”
In her lawsuit, Roper claims that while she was in the group, she was left out of business deals, not fully paid one-third of the royalties and other earnings. She also claimed that she had no clue that the group released a Best of Salt-N-Pepa album back in 1999 and that her images on the album art were used without her consent. Denton allegedly called her in 2001 and informed her that she was owed $125,000 in royalties from the album however the payment was never made. Roper also claimed that she was given a fair compensation for their VH1 reality show, The Salt-N-Pepa Show.
Spinderella joined Salt-N-Pepa in 1987 when she was 16-years-old. She was terminated from the Grammy-nominated group back in January 2019 when she was sent an e-mail saying she would not be performing with them on the New Kids On The Block Mixtape Tour or anywhere else.
Denton and James added that they will remain tightlipped about their ongoing legal issues with their former group member of over 30 years.
“We will refrain from commenting on Spin’s claims until we’ve had the opportunity to review the complaint. That being said, it’s unfortunate she is choosing to take this path because Salt-N-Pepa have been very good to her, both artistically and financially, for more than 30 years.”
