Tomi Adeyemi Vows She Will 'Never' Adapt Her Books Again

Tomi Adeyemi says she will "never" turn another one of her books into a movie. The best-selling author made the declaration in a new interview with The Guardian, months after she went viral with a TikTok video denouncing the film adaptation of her 2018 fantasy novel "Children of Blood and Bone."

Adeyemi described the production as "the worst thing I have ever had to live through." She said the experience left her "hyperventilating and sobbing" on set during filming. She also alleged that she is "still being antagonized behind the scenes" and that after filming wrapped, she "came back to America" and "suffered such severe somatic pain and so many panic attacks." She posted the TikTok video in late July.

The Guardian asked Adeyemi directly about the video. "I understood that if I didn't speak up, I couldn't move forward," she said. "I can't really worry about the response, because I don't have to live with how people respond to me – I have to live with me, every day."

She declined to specify what happened on set. "I won't go into the specifics," she said. But she added: "The whole journey of the trilogy and the adaptation felt biblical … It took all of me."

"Children of Blood and Bone" is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and carries an all-star cast: Thuso Mbedu, Damson Idris, Amandla Stenberg, Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Regina King, Idris Elba and Viola Davis, among others. The casting of Stenberg, who is mixed race, ignited conversations about colorism among book fans. In the novels, Adeyemi describes the character Stenberg plays as having "dark copper skin."

The friction between the author and the production spilled into public view earlier. In a since-deleted TikTok video posted in early July, Adeyemi shared what appeared to be a group chat that included Stenberg. Adeyemi texted, "Do not ever use my name in an interview or video again. Do not text me. Do not call me," and appeared to block the actor, according to the L.A. Times.

Asked by The Guardian whether she wanted to clarify anything about Stenberg's casting, Adeyemi drew a sharp line between the film and her books. "With a film, the director makes every decision," she said. "With my book I can talk about every choice down to the commas, because that's truly in my hands. So there's nothing for me to add, other than the clarity that these aren't my choices."

She was equally blunt about the finished film. "I still don't plan to watch it, but it's not really for me to watch," she told The Guardian.

The film arrives in theaters on Jan. 15, releasing with one of its source material's most prominent advocates publicly estranged from the project. Whether audiences and book fans embrace the adaptation — and how the studio manages the rupture with its author — will shape the conversation around one of the most anticipated fantasy films of the season.