Michael Oher files lawsuit against the Tuohys – alleging he was ‘tricked by them as he reveals he made NOTHING from The Blind Side’
- The retired NFL veteran filed a lawsuit against the family in Tennessee Monday
- The Tuohy family were made famous by the 2009 Oscar-winning film
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Former NFL star Michael Oher has sued the family popularized by acclaimed 2009 film, The Blind Side, alleging he was tricked into signing a document which made them conservators — not his adoptive parents — allowing them to profit off him.
Widespread belief was that Oher was indeed the adopted son of Sean and Leigh Anne Touhy, the latter of whom was played by Sandra Bullock in the Academy Award-winning role.
In 2004, while Oher was aged 18, he signed on to a petition which made them his conservators – and in other words, able to legally act upon business interests in his name.
ESPN was first to report that Oher filed a 14-page petition in Shelby County, Tennessee Monday alleging the centrality of the movie was a lie and the Tuohy family used him as a means of acquiring further wealth.
The Blind Side, a Michael Lewis book that became he basis for an Oscar-winning film, grossed $309million. Oher alleges in the suit, the conservatorship enabled the Tuohy family to strike a deal wherein they – inclusive of their two children – would receive royalties from the heartwarming movie.
Michael Oher with Sean & Leigh Anne Tuohy – all of whom were immortalized in The Blind Side
The 2009 Oscar-winning film, Oher contends, is based upon a lie and that he was tricked
Oher alleges he received not even a cent from the motion picture which detailed his story of triumph from homelessness to first-round NFL draft pick.
‘The lie of Michael’s adoption is one upon which Co-Conservators Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy have enriched themselves at the expense of their Ward, the undersigned Michael Oher,’ per the legal filing obtained by ESPN.
‘Michael Oher discovered this lie to his chagrin and embarrassment in February of 2023, when he learned that the Conservatorship to which he consented on the basis that doing so would make him a member of the Tuohy family, in fact provided him no familial relationship with the Tuohys.’
Oher has also asked for there to be an end to the conservatorship, in addition to an injection which would halt them from using his name and likeness.
The now-retired offensive lineman is also seeking ‘a full accounting’ of money earned by the family as a result of him.
In his 2011 best-seller I Beat the Odds, Oher described his version of how the conservatorship came to be.
‘They explained to me that it means pretty much the exact same thing as ‘adoptive parents’, but that the laws were just written in a way that took my age into account.’
Sandra Bullock won an Emmy for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy in the beloved 2009 film
In high school, Oher received several scholarship offers from the likes of Alabama, LSU and Tennessee but chose Ole Miss — the Tuohy’s alma mater.
Through his four years in Oxford, Oher was three-times All-SEC. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens with the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.
Oher played five seasons with the Ravens before one in Tennessee and his final two years in Carolina.
During nine seasons in the league, Oher had a total earnings of $34.5m, per Spotrac.