On the heels of the trailer reveal for the big-screen adaption of “Children of Blood and Bone,” the book’s author is claiming that an on-set ordeal traumatized her — and fans have been left with more questions than answers.
Tomi Adeyemi upped the ante Wednesday when discussing the ongoing behind-the-scenes drama that’s overshadowed the film‘s production. The author, in her latest video on the falling-out with people on the project, hinted at a painful ordeal that unfolded on set, leaving fans scratching their heads and wondering what exactly happened and who was involved.
“I’m gonna post this so ideally I won’t have to talk about this anymore,” Adeyemi said in a 5-minute, 40-second video posted to social media. “And 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 antagonized me, and I accept that, but I also accept if I don’t say something, I think it’s just going to be worse.
“I’m not gonna 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 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, and there are many witnesses, so it’s not really a secret.”
The author said that when she returned to America from an overseas filming location, she suffered “such severe somatic pain and so many panic attacks” that she knew she never would be able to watch the film.
“But as it is being marketed, 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 reality needs to at least be made known,” she said, “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 concluded that she never wants to hear about the film adaption again and then seemingly threw shade at director Gina Prince-Bythewood, with whom she wrote the screenplay, saying, “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.”
Representatives for Prince-Bythewood and Paramount Pictures did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.
Earlier this month, the Nigerian American author posted a since-deleted video on TikTok that also left her followers puzzled in which she said there was a reason she stopped promoting the forthcoming film. Although she didn’t spell it out, she posted a screen shot of a February 2025 text exchange with one of the film’s stars, Amandla Stenberg, in which she told the actor not to use her name in interviews and then blocked her.
Stenberg, who is African American and Danish, had been at the center of a casting controversy because of claims that colorism was at play when she landed the role of Princess Amari. (Read more about the controversy here.)
On Monday, Paramount held a “Children of Blood and Bone” trailer launch event at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. In a discussion moderated by “Master of None” actor Lena Waithe, Prince-Bythewood and the A-list cast talked about the making and almost-not-making of the film, and Prince-Bythewood seemed to reveal her stance on the fallout over Stenberg’s casting.
The director said her big-screen adaptation was “beautifully inspired by Nigeria and also inclusive of the whole diaspora. We wanted all of us to be able to see ourselves within this, just our complete and utter humanity, all the beautiful hues.”
In the comments under Adeyemi’s video Wednesday, frustrated fans asked the author to be more transparent, while others suggested a nondisclosure agreement might be hindering her ability to discuss the incident.
“Children of Blood and Bone” is a young adult novel about a teenager trying to bring back magic to a mythical land. The film adaptation is slated to hit theaters Jan. 15.
