The family that inspired the Oscar-nominated film The Blind Side has rejected allegations it tricked former USA NFL player Michael Oher into a conservatorship and withheld money from him.
Yesterday, Oher filed a petition in a US court accusing Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy of lying to him, saying he was never legally adopted, but was tricked into agreeing to make them his conservators. He also accused them of making money from the film and depriving him of earnings.
Oher during a game for the Baltimore Ravens in 2010.Credit: AP Photo/Nick Wass
As reported in Deadline, the couple hit back at the allegations via their lawyer Marty Singer, who said claims the Tuohys had ever sought to profit off Oher were offensive and ridiculous.
Sean Tuohy also described the claims as insulting, in a statement to the Daily Memphian. “It’s upsetting to think we would make money off any of our children,” he said. “But we’re going to love Michael at 37 just like we loved him at 16”.
The Blind Side, a 2009 feel-good movie about a well-to-do white family adopting a black teenager, was nominated for an Oscar for best picture. Sandra Bullock won the Academy Award for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy.
Sean Tuohy said the conservatorship arrangement was made so Oher could play football at the University of Mississippi.
“They said the only way Michael could go to Ole Miss was if he was actually part of the family,” Sean told the Daily Memphian. “I sat Michael down and told him, ‘If you’re planning to go to Ole Miss — or even considering Ole Miss — we think you have to be part of the family. This would do that, legally.’ We contacted lawyers who had told us that we couldn’t adopt over the age of 18; the only thing we could do was to have a conservatorship.”
In a statement released overnight, the family’s lawyer said: “Unbeknownst to the public, Mr Oher has actually attempted to run this play several times before – but it seems that numerous other lawyers stopped representing him once they saw the evidence and learned the truth. Sadly, Mr Oher has finally found a willing enabler and filed this ludicrous lawsuit as a cynical attempt to drum up attention in the middle of his latest book tour.”
Oher has spoken about his complicated relationship with Blind Side in the past, saying the film negatively impacted his career.
He does so again in his latest book, When Your Back’s Against the Wall, which he co-wrote with Don Yeager, published last week. He has co-authored two other books with Yeager including I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness, to The Blind Side, and Beyond in 2012 and 2018’s Blindsided: One Player’s Insightful View of CTE and His Quest to Save Football.
Happier days: Michael Oher, left, Collins Tuohy, second from left, and Leigh Anne Tuohy, whose lives are portrayed in The Blind Side, speak with Pastor Kerry Shook, right, in 2010.Credit: Eric S. Swist
Singer said the Tuohys had been upfront about how a conservatorship was established to help with Oher’s needs, such as health insurance, obtaining a driver’s license and college admissions. He said no money was made from it. “Should Mr Oher wish to terminate the conservatorship, either now or at any time in the future, the Tuohys will never oppose it in any way.”
“Through hard work and good fortune, Sean and Leigh Anne have made an extraordinary amount of money in the restaurant business. The notion that a couple worth hundreds of millions of dollars would connive to withhold a few thousand dollars in profit participation payments from anyone – let alone from someone they loved as a son – defies belief,” the statement said.
“In reality, the Tuohys opened their home to Mr Oher, offered him structure, support and, most of all, unconditional love. They have consistently treated him like a son and one of their three children.
“When Michael Lewis, a friend of Sean’s since childhood, was approached about turning his book on Mr Oher and the Tuohys into a movie about their family, his agents negotiated a deal where they received a small advance from the production company and a tiny percentage of net profits. They insisted that any money received be divided equally. And they have made good on that pledge.
The evidence – documented in profit participation checks and studio accounting statements – is clear: over the years, the Tuohys have given Mr Oher an equal cut of every penny received from The Blind Side.”
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