Bestselling author ‘flees movie set sobbing’ after revealing she’s blocked lead actress

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Children of Blood and Bone author Tomi Adeyemi has called the highly anticipated upcoming movie adaptation of her book ‘the worst thing I have ever had to live through’ in a fresh video statement on social media. She also said that she ‘never wants to hear’ about the project again, as she shared claims of being ‘antagonised behind the scenes’. The bestselling writer, who co-authored the screenplay and is an executive producer on the film, previously announced that she wouldn’t be watching it when it comes out next year, after appearing to block its lead actress and telling her to never ‘use my name’ again. But as the trailer for the star-studded adaptation launched this week – which boasts a cast including Viola Davis, Sir Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo, Damson Idris, Lashana Lynch and Chiwetel Ejiofor – Adeyemi has spoken out again. Amandla Stenberg was also confirmed to play Princess Amari, with 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, alongside her brother and the king’s daughter and son. The movie is directed by The Woman King’s Gina Prince-Bythewood. ‘What I’m about to share is not a secret to the people involved. It’s a reality that I’ve had to live with for about a year and a half, and everyone involved, at least at the highest level, has been made aware of this reality, and they haven’t done anything to make it better. If anything, they’ve only antagonised me, and I accept that,’ she began in a video from her bathroom, posted to Instagram. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video ‘But I also accept if I don’t say something, I think it’s just going to be worse.’ Adeyemi then alleged that she left the Children of Blood and Bone set ‘hyperventilating and sobbing’ and claimed that she is ‘still being antagonised behind the scenes’. ‘I’m not going to speak on what I endured to make it through the young adult trilogy, and I’m not going to speak about everything that I also suffered through or endured to make the adaptation a reality. I’m actually only going to speak about what happened after I left that set of my own film adaptation, hyperventilating and sobbing. There are many witnesses, so it’s not really a secret.’ Voice breaking, she continued: ‘I came back to America and suffered such severe somatic pain and so many panic attacks. I knew it was so bad that I would never ever be able to watch this film, and I made peace with that. ‘But as it is being marketed, and as I am still being antagonised behind the scenes – which is where I hoped all of this would stay – it’s become apparent to me that that reality needs to at least be made known, so that you guys can understand how this film, which I worked on to make it a little better for us to be alive, is also the worst thing I have ever had to live through.’ Author Tomi Adeyemi calimed she was ‘still being antagonised behind the scenes’ after fleeing the set of Children of Blood and Bone (Picture: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for 20th Century Studios ) She had already distanced herself from the star-studded adaptation, which includes Damson Idris and Cynthia Erivo among its cast (pictured), as well as Viola Davis and Sir Idris Elba (Picture: Lephatse Motshana/Paramount Pictures) Adeyemi also insisted that she didn’t ‘wish to speak on it anymore’ but accepted that she wasn’t sure that was possible as she understood ‘that I have a public presence, and that this is a global project’. ‘It’s probably useless posting a video. I really don’t know. I don’t do things like this, but I also understand that being silent about it is making the pain a lot worse. And even though it feels awful to share this, it’s better to share it and have it known and understood before I see a bunch of you for this new book,’ she added. ‘So please understand, I never want to hear about this project again. I don’t have anything to say about the people who made it. I do not care anymore. I’m trying to move on. This video might make it worse, but I don’t know how it can be any worse. So I’m just going to share that and let it live.’ It came after Adeyemi shared a now deleted video on TikTok in early July, with screenshots of messages she’d sent to unidentified recipients on Instagram, urging in one for them to support her by purchasing ‘any edition of the trilogy at local independent children’s bookstores’. She had promised in a previous message: ‘There is a reason I will not post anything about the adaptation of my work. That is all.’ Those messages were dated June 25, with the next screenshot suggesting a feud between Adeyemi and the film’s star Stenberg, 27, has been brewing for over a year, as the author messaged her on February 28, 2025. Adeyemi also shared screenshots earlier this month which suggested she had blocked lead actress Amandla Stenberg amid some kind of falling out 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 read, in part: ‘My only hope was to reconnect as human beings.’ 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. Hinger Games star Stenberg is playing Princess Amari, and previously addressed backlash to her casting (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage) The release of Children of Blood and Bone, followed by Paramount’s acquisition of the story, is thought to be one of the biggest young adult publishing deals ever. Adeyemi clearly manifested her dream cast, after speaking to Metro in 2018 and revealing Davis and Sir Idris as two of her top picks for the future film. ‘There’s still some screen crushes that I would fall to my knees and cry [over], like if Viola Davis was Mama Agba. Every time I see an interview and John Boyega starts chanting I’m like – OK, he’s Tzain,’ she told us. ‘Idris Elba was the picture I had over my screen when I was writing the King Seran scene. So he’s the one person that I thought, if he doesn’t do this I’d feel kind of silly because it was kind of written for you, of you and about you. ‘Not that I think he’s an evil king but I pictured him when I had to write that scene!’ Metro has contacted reps for Paramount, Adeyemi and Prince-Bythewood for comment. Children of Blood and Bone hits cinemas on January 15, 2027. 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