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Author Tomi Adeyemi canceled her previously announced New York Comic Con (NYCC) panel, where she was set to promote her new book, “The Siren.” No announcement from Adeyemi or NYCC organizer ReedPop was made ahead of
the panel’s planned Saturday slot, leaving fans questioning what led her to pull out and when.
A source tells Variety the panel was canceled by Adeyemi last month and quietly pulled from the New York Comic Con schedule at that time. It was originally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10 at 1:30 p.m. ET at the New York Javits Center.
Representatives for Adeyemi, her agency CAA and “The Siren” publisher Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group did not immediately respond for comment Saturday.
Earlier this year, the author slammed the film adaptation of her novel, “Children of Blood and Bone,” in a video posted to her TikTok and in a recent interview with The Guardian, Adeyemi said that the experience left her wanting to “never” turn another one of her novels into a film again.
Adeyemi has said the creative process was “the worst thing I have ever had to live through” and left her “hyperventilating and sobbing.” The author also shared that she’s “still being antagonized behind the scenes” and “suffered such severe somatic pain and so many panic attacks” after filming wrapped.
She didn’t elaborate on the specifics of what turned the experience sour, though Adeyemi previously posted a since-deleted TikTok video featuring what appears to be a group chat including the film’s star Amandla Stenberg, where 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 Stenberg, according to the L.A. Times. Stenberg’s casting caused controversy about casting a mixed-race actress for a character Adeyemi described as having “dark copper skin” in her books.
“Children of Blood and Bone” is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and stars Stenberg, Thuso Mbedu, Damson Idris, Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Regina King, Idris Elba and Viola Davis, among others.
The “Children of Blood and Bone” theatrical adaptation hits theaters on Jan. 15.
