Tomi Adeyemi says she left film set of adaption of her ‘Children of Blood and Bone’ in tears

Author Tomi Adeyemi, whose novel “Children of Blood and Bone” is being made into a movie, said in a TikTok video that she left the set of the book’s film adaptation in tears. Throughout the video, posted Wednesday, an emotional Adeyemi referenced suffering on the set but did not provide any details of what transpired. In the video, the author said she wouldn’t speak about “everything that I also suffered through, or endured, to make the adaptation a reality.” Instead, she said she was only going to speak about “what happened after I left that set of my own film adaptation hyperventilating and sobbing, and there are many witnesses so it’s not really a secret.” “I came back to America and suffered such severe somatic pain and so many panic attacks and I knew it was so bad that I would never ever be able to watch this film and I made peace with that,” she said. “But as it is being marketed,” she said, referencing the film’s trailer, which dropped on Tuesday, “and as I am still being antagonized 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, and I don’t wish to speak on it anymore.” Adeyemi co-wrote the movie’s screenplay. She has previously spoken about how she will never watch the film because of experiences she had on set. The high profile Paramount film is set for release in January. It is being directed by acclaimed filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood and has a star-studded cast that includes Cynthia Erivo, Idris Elba and Viola Davis. NBC News has contacted Adeyemi for comment and more context on her allegations. Paramount and Prince-Bythewood were also contacted and did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Earlier this month, Adeyemi posted a now-deleted TikTok that appeared to show screenshots of a group chat including both her and actor Amandla Stenberg, who stars in “Children of Blood and Bone.” “Do not ever use my name in an interview or video again. Do not text me. Do not call me,” Adeyemi wrote in the group chat, according to the L.A. Times. The screenshot also appeared to show that Adeyemi blocked Stenberg. Neither has spoken publicly about a feud. But Stenberg has faced backlash over her casting as Princess Amari in the film adaptation due to allegations of colorism, Variety reported. “I am four months into training for ‘Children of Blood and Bone’ and I am getting my ass whooped,” Stenberg said in a TikTok video posted last year that has since been deleted, according to Variety. “I want everyone to know that this is important to me, and I think about it with every choice that I make. I would never navigate my career blindly, not thinking about my skin tone or the space I occupy. I would never go after a role I didn’t feel was right for me,” she said in the deleted video, which appeared to address the colorism allegations. “I want to see all skin tones represented in media,” she said. “I know that colorism is an insidious system that relentlessly impacts every facet of entertainment.”A representative for Stenberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Adeyemi, in the Wednesday video, said the allegations were “not a secret to the people involved,” without mentioning who those people were. “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,” she said. “If anything, they’ve only antagonized me, and I accept that, but I also accept if I don’t say something, I think it’s just gonna be worse.” She said she chose to speak out because “being silent about it is making the pain a lot worse.”“Please understand I never want to hear about this project again,” Adeyemi continued, while also acknowledging that it may not be possible to stop speaking on the issue, as she has a public presence and the movie is a global project. “I don’t have anything to say about the people who made it. I do not care anymore. I am trying to move on,” she said. “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.”