Tomi Adeyemi announced on July 4, 2026, via TikTok that she will not watch the Paramount adaptation of her novel Children of Blood and Bone and is formally distancing herself from the project — months before the film's scheduled January 15, 2027 premiere.

"There is a reason I will not post anything about the adaptation of my work," Adeyemi said in group chat messages she shared publicly. "I have not seen the film, and I will not watch it." The disclosures were picked up by The Guardian on July 6, 2026, drawing wider attention to a rupture that Adeyemi suggested had been building for some time.

The adaptation is a high-profile project. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood — who co-wrote the script with Adeyemi — it carries a cast that includes Amandla Stenberg, Thuso Mbedu, Tosin Cole, Damson Idris, Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Regina King, Idris Elba, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Viola Davis. Prince-Bythewood teased the film at CinemaCon in April 2026. The weight of the ensemble, and the fact that Adeyemi herself shared a co-writing credit, makes her public withdrawal from the film's rollout conspicuous.

The Fallout with Amandla Stenberg

Among the most striking elements of Adeyemi's TikTok post were apparent messages she says she sent to lead actress Amandla Stenberg in February 2025. The messages read: "Do not ever use my name in an interview or video again. Do not text me. Do not call me." Adeyemi did not elaborate on the specific incident that prompted them, but the context is not entirely opaque.

Stenberg had previously faced a colorism backlash over her casting as Princess Amari — a character described in the novel as having "dark copper skin" — given that Stenberg is biracial. Stenberg addressed that backlash in a since-deleted TikTok, saying there was a "perception of me that I steal roles from dark-skinned women." The intersection of casting politics and public statements appears to sit at the heart of what Adeyemi describes as being "hurt and attacked behind the scenes."

Adeyemi was careful, in a comment reply to a fan beneath her TikTok, not to direct her audience away from the film: "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." The tone is one of personal exhaustion rather than a call to boycott.

What the Author Said — and Didn't

Adeyemi's language is precise in what it withholds. She described holding back information as painful: "It's been painful holding this back from you all … And I'm sorry if any of you thought I didn't care about US. More than any glitter." The phrase "more than any glitter" reads as a pointed contrast with the promotional apparatus of a major studio release — the press tours, the premieres, the social media campaigns she will evidently not be part of.

She has not named specific grievances beyond the messages to Stenberg, and she has not publicly criticized the film's creative execution. The Guardian reported that it reached out to Paramount, Prince-Bythewood, and Stenberg's representative for comment, without indicating it received any responses at time of publication.

The absence of response from the studio, director, and lead actress is its own data point. With a January 2027 release date, Paramount is entering its marketing window. A public estrangement between the source novelist — who also co-wrote the screenplay — and a key cast member is not a minor friction to manage.

For Adeyemi personally, the episode lands as she pivots to new work. In February 2026, Deadline reported that her next standalone novel, The Siren, will be published by Henry Holt and Co., an imprint of Macmillan. The public separation from Children of Blood and Bone — both the film and, it seems, the people around it — positions her as moving on, even as the studio's promotional machine for the adaptation is only getting started.