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Author Tomi Adeyemi has publicly denounced the film adaptation of her bestselling novel and told its lead actress to never ‘use [her] name’ again in a dramatic development.
Young adult romantic fantasy novel Children of Blood and Bone was released in 2018 by the Nigerian-American writer to high praise, having received one of the biggest YA publishing deals ever.
As a result, a silver screen adaptation was green-lit, with Paramount Pictures acquiring the rights for an exclusive theatrical release in 2022.
Some of the most sought-after names in Hollywood joined the cast, including Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo, Damson Idris, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Amandla Stenberg has been confirmed to play Princess Amari, too, for the story set in an African fantasy kingdom and following a young woman, Zélie Adebola (Thuso Mbedu), who goes on a quest to reclaim the magical powers stolen from her.
However, now in post-production, the project has soured, with Adeyemi defiantly distancing herself from the film and declaring that she will not watch it.
Taking to TikTok this weekend, the 32-year-old author shared a video with the text, ‘Why don’t you post about the adaptation of your first film adaptation anymore?’, adding in the caption: ‘for everyone’s who’s been asking – i’m answering this question once and for all.’
In the video, she shared screenshots of messages she’d sent to unidentified recipients on Instagram. The first read: ‘there is a reason i will not post anything about the adaptation of my work. that is all.’
A follow-up sent to the same person read: ‘from this point on, if you want to support me, you can purchase any edition of the trilogy at local independent children’s bookstores (books of wonder, nyc)’.
Those messages were dated June 25, with the next screenshot suggesting a feud between Adeyemi and film star Stenberg, 27, has been brewing for over a year, as the author messaged her on February 28, 2025.
In her text, Adeyemi wrote: ‘do not ever use my name in an interview or video again. do not text me. do not call me.’
Underneath, an iPhone notification said, ‘You blocked this contact.’
It’s unknown whether Stenberg attempted to reply to Adeyemi before being blocked, but a fraction of her previous message is visible in the screenshot. It said, in part: ‘My only hope was to reconnect as human beings.’
Adeyemi’s string of receipts concluded with three more messages sent to an unnamed contact.
She began: ‘and lastly since someone asked – i have not seen the film, and i will not watch it.’
Adeyemi then said in the group chat, which seemed to have many members, given the messages were viewed by 1.6k people: ‘it’s been painful holding this back from you all.’
Her final message then said: ‘and i’m sorry if any of you thought i didn’t care. i will always care about US. more than any glitter.’
Upon uploading the TikTok, Adeyemi was flooded with baffled comments from fans failing to understand what had gone wrong.
‘Why the sudden change? you were a big defender, what happened?!?’, asked @soheebby.
‘it’s giving messy’, @sayyida.al.hurra wrote, while @caityn_n commented: ‘I’m very confused’.
Others said they felt ‘sad’ over how things turned out, while some are fearing for what the adaptation will now look like.
Replying to one follower, Adeyemi said: ‘I do not mind anyone going to watch the film. I wrote this for us. I fought for us. I’m just laying down my sword and officially separating my name because I can’t keep being hurt and attacked behind the scenes.’
Several comments further pointed out that Adeyemi initially ‘defended’ the film adaptation and its choices.
Last year, around the time Adeyemi seemingly messaged Stenberg, the Love, Simon star posted her own TikTok, responding to colourism backlash, having been accused of ‘stealing roles from dark-skinned women’, since many readers noticed her character is described as having ‘dark copper skin’ in the book.
She insisted that Adeyemi supported her joining the film, saying: ‘I had the opportunity to meet Tomi, the novelist, for the first time. Then, she goes, “Amandla, I want you to know that when you were a little girl and were cast as Rue in The Hunger Games, and you had these racist remarks thrown at you because people said that Rue’s death wouldn’t be as sad because you’re a Black girl — that inspired me to write this series so that Black girls like you and Black girls of all shades could have a story written about them.”
‘We just started crying, and I said to myself, “God wants me here!”‘
Stenberg has since deleted the video.
This is also not the first time Adeyemi (who had been confirmed as an executive producer) has wanted to cut ties with the production.
Previously, The Hollywood Reporter claimed that she had become dissatisfied with the pace Lucasfilm was taking and asked to serve as a scriptwriter, a request that Lucasfilm declined.
Lucasfilm and 20th Century Studios then began focusing on the likes of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, leading to the rights to Children of Blood and Bone lapsing in late 2021 before being acquired by Paramount.
In December 2023, Gina Prince-Bythewood was announced as its director and confirmed to be further developing the script that Adeyemi had, by then, been approved to write.
The Woman King director Prince-Bythewood accompanied several cast members, including Stenberg, to CinemaCon earlier this year to debut the first look at the film, declaring it an ‘honour to bring this incredible bestselling fantasy book to life’.
Children of Blood and Bone is now scheduled to be released in the US on January 15, 2027.
Paramount Pictures and reps for Amandla Stenberg have been contacted for comment.
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