“Children of Blood and Bone” author Tomi Adeyemi told actress Amandla Stenberg, who is starring in the upcoming film adaptation of her book, to never “text” or “call” her as she exposed their rift.
In a scathing TikTok posted Saturday, Adeyemi shared a screenshot of alleged text messages between her and Stenberg, in which the latter seemingly wrote, “My only hope was to reconnect as human beings.”
The Harvard University graduate responded, “Do not ever use my name in an interview or video again. Do not text me. Do not call me.”
She then blocked Stenberg as a contact.
“There is a reason I will not post anything about the adaptation of my work. That’s all,” the New York Times bestselling author wrote in a separate Instagram DM, which she screenshotted and included in the video.
A second message read, “From this point on, if you want to support me, you can purchase any edition of the trilogy at a local independent children’s book store (books of wonder, NYC).
In more screenshots of Instagram DMs, the writer said she has not seen the film and “will not watch it.”
“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 32-year-old sold the rights to the first book of her “Legacy of Orïsha” trilogy and signed on to executive produce and co-write the upcoming film with director Gina Prince-Bythewood.
“Children of Blood and Bone” is set in a fantasy African kingdom where a young woman embarks on a quest to reclaim the magic violently stolen from her people. She and her brother create an alliance with the king’s daughter and son to fight back against his brutal rule.
Stenberg plays the main character, Princess Amari, in the film adaptation, which is set to premiere on Jan. 15, 2027.
The alleged texts between Adeyemi and the “Hunger Games” actress are dated Feb. 28, 2025.
Notably, that same month, Stenberg received backlash for being cast in the role, as the character in the book is described as having “dark copper skin.” Many fans voiced on social media that the role belonged to a darker-skinned woman.
In a since-deleted Instagram Reel, she defended her casting and said it was “painful for [her] to feel like [she’s] at odds with [her] own community,” per Us Weekly.
“I would never navigate my career blindly and ignorantly, not thinking about my skin tone or the space that I occupy. I would never go after a role that I didn’t feel like was right for me to chase,” she insisted.
In the video, Stenberg also claimed she had received Adeyemi’s approval.
“She goes, ‘Amandla, I want you to know that when you were a little girl and you were cast as Rue in ‘The Hunger Games,’ and 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 started crying, and I said to myself, ‘God wants me here.’”
The cast of the upcoming film also includes Thuso Mbedu, Tosin Cole, Damson Idris, Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Regina King, Idris Elba, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Viola Davis.
