Amandla Stenberg faces colourism backlash for role in Children of Blood and Bone
The Acolyte star Amandla Stenberg has been at the receiving end of backlash since her recent casting in the cinematic adaption of the hit young adult romantic fantasy novel Children of Blood and Bone was announced. Despite being very outspoken about colourism in Hollywood, Stenberg’s latest role as Princess Amari has prompted netizens to question how committed she is to that rhetoric. Let me explain.
What is ‘Children of Blood and Bone’?
Children of Blood and Bone is a romantic fantasy novel by Nigerian-American novelist Tomi Adeyemi. It is set in the fictional country of Orïsha, which is based on an alternate, pre-colonial version of Nigeria, and focuses on its princess Amari. The young woman is on a quest to restore magic to the nation. Beyond its narratical plot, the novel also explores how classism, elitism and racism intersect in a moving coming-of-age story that has captured the hearts of many Gen Zers on BookTok.
Stenberg, who is no stranger to the young adult genre, as her roles in The Hunger Games, Everything, Everything and The Darkest Minds prove, has subsequently been cast in the pivotal role.
However, netizens quickly started to note that she had a central, visual difference to Amari. Everyone who has seen the cover of the fantasy romance will likely know that Amari has been depicted as dark-skinned by the illustrators. This, unfortunately, is something that the biracial actor is not.
The cast of Gina Prince-Bythewood’s adaptation of ‘CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE’:
Thuso Mbedu
Amandla Stenberg
Damson Idris
Tosin Cole
Viola Davis
Cynthia Erivo
Idris Elba
Lashana Lynch
Chiwetel Ejiofor pic.twitter.com/kwVELdY2Ox— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) January 22, 2025
Is Amandla Stenberg an anti-racism advocate?
Amandla Stenberg is without a doubt one of the most outspoken intersectional feminists in all of Hollywood. If you are a young woman who came of age in the 2010s, you likely know and adore the young actor. In the past, she has directed attention towards cultural appropriation, the Black Lives Matter movement, and colourism in Hollywood, so much so that one infamous Buzzfeed article dubbed her the definition of “Black Girl Magic.”
Stenberg has transformed the landscape for young Hollywood, with a little bit of help from Rowan Blanchard, Yara Shahidi, and Zendaya, proving that Gen Zers prefer their idols talented and socially conscious.
In fact, the young actor also confirmed that she walked away from the role of Shuri in the Black Panther franchise due to their lighter complexion.
This is why her casting as princess Amari surprised many who are familiar with her activism.
Still, Stenberg is still no stranger to colourism critique. When the actor played the protagonist Starr Carter in the 2018 police violence film The Hate U Give, many fans noted the character of the original novel had notably had darker skin and an afro.
The decision to cast an actor without these features ignited controversy, especially given how light-skinned people are less affected by police violence than their darker-skinned peers.
What are people saying about Amandla Stenberg’s casting as princess Amari?
As soon as the casting news became public, people dug out their book covers and excerpts to substantiate their concerns that Amandla Stenberg might be a tad too light for this one.
According to fans of the franchise, Amari’s “dark brown copper complexion” is an important factor in the novel, given that the character—whose skin is much darker than the rest of her family’s—faces colourism from those around her.
Amari is a fully black brown skin woman who faces colorism in the books. Tomi Adeyemi casting Amandla Stenberg, a white skinned biracial actress, to play her is truly disgusting pic.twitter.com/POB9WOnNwa
— —- (@seeereenade) January 22, 2025
@jordy4070 It’s so over lmao #amandlastenberg #childrenofbloodandbone #hollywood #girlythings #fyp
♬ Headlock - Imogen Heap
Considering that the rest of the cast (Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo, Viola Davis, and Chiwetel Ejiofor) are notably darker than Stenberg, fans fear that this aspect will get lost in the movie.
we needa boycott that children of blood and bone film before they even turn the cameras on to get amandla stenberg ass fired.
colorism is gonna keep running rampant on these sets unless we do something as a COMMUNITY to combat it. y’all move too scary for me! pic.twitter.com/y7ctIkQego
— tay is patience (@plainpotatotay) January 23, 2025
me liking & rt’ing everyone calling out amandla stenberg for stealing roles from dark skinned black women pic.twitter.com/A2HltnOYlL
— leah doesn’t do cocaine (@camis_unicorn) January 23, 2025
Wherever there is a place for darkskin representation you will for some reason find Amandla Stenberg there
— black on comic twit (@blkcomictwit) January 22, 2025
Next thing you know, angry fans have begun calling for a boycott of the movie and have accused Stenberg of stealing roles from darker-skinned women.
Some even went as far as to note that the cast in general is too light-skinned and devoid of any real African actors to do the novel and its roots in Yoruba culture and language justice.
@iyeketi representation is not my saviour nor the hill i’m willing to d*e on but wow we can’t have shit
♬ original sound - aminata
“The accents are going to be diabolical,” one TikTok user noted. “That cast and a West African accent is going to be scary.”
Whether the film will honour the novel’s themes authentically and address the concerns raised by fans online remains to be seen. Yet, Stenberg’s advocacy for anti-racism and colourism has earned her praise, this casting decision has prompted fans to question whether her actions fully align with her rhetoric.
Beyond this, the controversy has reignited an essential conversation about who gets to tell certain stories—and how Hollywood can better respect the communities those stories aim to represent.
