Tomi Adeyemi left Children of Blood and Bone set sobbing
In a five-minute video, Tomi Adeyemi said the Paramount Children of Blood and Bone film was “the worst thing I have ever had to live through,” that she left the set “hyperventilating and sobbing,” and that she never wants to hear about the project again as its trailer rollout continues.
Key Takeaways
- Adeyemi, who co-wrote the screenplay, called the adaptation the worst thing she has had to live through and said she never wants to hear about it again.
- She alleged she left the film’s set hyperventilating and sobbing, then faced severe somatic pain and panic attacks after returning to America.
- She says she is still being antagonized behind the scenes and will not watch the movie.
- The Paramount fantasy, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, is due in theaters on January 15, 2027.
- Representatives for Adeyemi, Paramount, and Prince-Bythewood did not immediately comment to Variety.
The Nigerian-American author’s remarks, reported by Variety, followed the first trailer for the young adult Afro-fantasy. Adeyemi said people at the highest level had known her reality for about a year and a half and had not made it better.
Why did Tomi Adeyemi speak out now?
Adeyemi said she had hoped the dispute would stay behind the scenes. As the film is marketed and she says she is still being antagonized, she argued the reality needed to be known.
“If I don’t say something, I think it’s just going to be worse,” she said in the clip. She framed the project as work meant to make life “a little better for us to be alive,” while also calling it her worst ordeal.
Coverage of the trailer and cast sits alongside other entertainment buzz in our Future Tech & AI Wonders hub, where big-screen adaptations often drive the conversation.
What has Adeyemi said about the film set?
She said she would not detail everything endured to finish her young adult trilogy or to get the adaptation made. Instead she focused on what followed after she left “that set of my own film adaptation, hyperventilating and sobbing,” noting there were many witnesses.
Back in America, she said, she suffered such severe somatic pain and so many panic attacks that she knew she would never be able to watch the film, and made peace with that. She added she does not wish to speak on it anymore and has nothing to say about the people who made it.
Earlier, Adeyemi had distanced herself online. The BBC reported she posted that there was a reason she would not promote the adaptation. A since-deleted TikTok appeared to show a message telling cast member Amandla Stenberg not to use her name or contact her. Adeyemi has not clarified what happened on set, and Variety noted any feud with Stenberg remains an insinuation.
When does Children of Blood and Bone hit theaters?
Paramount’s film, co-written by Adeyemi and Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King), opens January 15, 2027. It follows Zélie Adebola’s quest to restore magic in Orïsha after a ruthless king wiped it out.
The cast includes Thuso Mbedu as Zélie, plus Cynthia Erivo, Damson Idris, Lashana Lynch, Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Amandla Stenberg, and others. Adeyemi’s message ends on a hard stop: she is trying to move on and never wants to hear about the project again.