Stop the Film Adaptation of Haunting Adeline: Abuse Should Never Be Marketed as Romance.
The Issue
Stop the Film Adaptation of Haunting Adeline: Abuse Should Never Be Marketed as Romance.
We are calling on the producers behind the planned film adaptation of Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton to halt this project.
Haunting Adeline centres on a relationship built around stalking, coercion, intimidation, sexual violence, and rape, yet these acts are presented within a romantic narrative. Bringing this story to the screen would give these themes an even larger platform, reaching audiences far beyond the book's readership.
Survivors of sexual violence have repeatedly spoken about the harm caused when obsessive control is portrayed as an expression of love or passion. Popular culture plays a powerful role in shaping conversations about relationships, consent, and intimacy. When abuse is packaged as romance, it contributes to the normalization of harmful behaviours and reinforces dangerous misconceptions about what love should look like.
There's plenty of adaption risks such as:
- Normalizing stalking as a sign of love or devotion.
- Romanticizing rape and sexual coercion.
- Reinforcing harmful myths about consent.
- Trivializing the experiences of survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
- Turning traumatic abuse into entertainment marketed as romance.
The entertainment industry has a responsibility to consider the messages it amplifies. Countless stories explore trauma and violence without presenting abuse as desirable or romantic. Choosing to adapt Haunting Adeline instead sends the message that stories built on sexual violence and coercive control deserve to be celebrated on the big screen.
Stories shape culture. They influence conversations, attitudes, and expectations about relationships. At a time when society continues to fight against gender-based violence and advocate for meaningful consent education, adapting a story that romanticizes abusive behaviour is a step in the wrong direction.
We urge the producers, investors, distributors, and everyone involved in this project to stop the production of this adaptation and stand with survivors instead of contributing to the normalization of abusive relationships.
Sign this petition if you believe that rape, stalking, coercion, and abuse should never be portrayed as romantic ideals in mainstream entertainment.
19,478
The Issue
Stop the Film Adaptation of Haunting Adeline: Abuse Should Never Be Marketed as Romance.
We are calling on the producers behind the planned film adaptation of Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton to halt this project.
Haunting Adeline centres on a relationship built around stalking, coercion, intimidation, sexual violence, and rape, yet these acts are presented within a romantic narrative. Bringing this story to the screen would give these themes an even larger platform, reaching audiences far beyond the book's readership.
Survivors of sexual violence have repeatedly spoken about the harm caused when obsessive control is portrayed as an expression of love or passion. Popular culture plays a powerful role in shaping conversations about relationships, consent, and intimacy. When abuse is packaged as romance, it contributes to the normalization of harmful behaviours and reinforces dangerous misconceptions about what love should look like.
There's plenty of adaption risks such as:
- Normalizing stalking as a sign of love or devotion.
- Romanticizing rape and sexual coercion.
- Reinforcing harmful myths about consent.
- Trivializing the experiences of survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
- Turning traumatic abuse into entertainment marketed as romance.
The entertainment industry has a responsibility to consider the messages it amplifies. Countless stories explore trauma and violence without presenting abuse as desirable or romantic. Choosing to adapt Haunting Adeline instead sends the message that stories built on sexual violence and coercive control deserve to be celebrated on the big screen.
Stories shape culture. They influence conversations, attitudes, and expectations about relationships. At a time when society continues to fight against gender-based violence and advocate for meaningful consent education, adapting a story that romanticizes abusive behaviour is a step in the wrong direction.
We urge the producers, investors, distributors, and everyone involved in this project to stop the production of this adaptation and stand with survivors instead of contributing to the normalization of abusive relationships.
Sign this petition if you believe that rape, stalking, coercion, and abuse should never be portrayed as romantic ideals in mainstream entertainment.
Supporter Voices
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on July 17, 2026