Yahoo News The Blind Side subject Sean Tuohy calls Michael Oher's fake adoption allegations 'insulting'
Sean Tuohy, the sports commentator whose family serves as the basis of the 2009 biographical drama The Blind Side, has responded to retired NFL player Michael Oher's claims that he and his wife Leigh Anne Tuohy never adopted him but tricked him into a conservatorship for financial gain.
"We're devastated," Tuohy told Daily Memphian on Tuesday. "It's upsetting to think we would make money off any of our children. But we're going to love Michael at 37 just like we loved him at 16."
Tuohy also denied Oher's allegations of making no money from the acclaimed film, which grossed over $300 million at the box office, while the Tuohys and their two birth children made millions. "We didn't make any money off the movie," Tuohy said. "Well, Michael Lewis [author of the book the film is based on] gave us half of his share. Everybody in the family got an equal share, including Michael. It was about $14,000 each."
"We were never offered money; we never asked for money," he added. "My money is well- documented; you can look up how much I sold my company for. The last thing I needed was 40 grand from a movie. I will say it's upsetting that people would think I would want to make money off any of my children."
The 2009 film tells the story of Oher (played by Quinton Aaron), a Black homeless teen who's taken in by the white Tuohys and soon realizes his potential as a student and football player. It earned a Best Picture nomination at the 2010 Academy Awards and won Sandra Bullock a statuette for her portrayal as Leigh Anne Tuohy. The real Oher went on to play football at the University of Mississippi and for the Baltimore Ravens.
Everett Collection Quinton Aaron and Sandra Bullock star in 'The Blind Side'
But in a 14-page petition requesting the termination of his conservatorship filed in a Tennessee court on Monday, Oher alleges the adoption at the center of the film is fraudulent, and that the Tuohys orchestrated the conservatorship for the legal authority to make business deals in his name. Oher is asking the court to bar the family from using his name and likeness. He's seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, as well as an accounting of the profits the Tuohys earned while "exploiting" his name.
"Since at least August of 2004, Conservators have allowed Michael, specifically, and the public, generally, to believe that Conservators adopted Michael and have used that untruth to gain financial advantages for themselves and the foundations which they own or which they exercise control," the petition, reviewed by EW, claims. "All monies made in said manner should in all conscience and equity be disgorged and paid over to the said ward, Michael Oher."
In response to the conservatorship allegations, Tuohy said, "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. We were so concerned it was on the up-and-up that we made sure the biological mother came to court." While current Tennessee law allows "adult adoption" for those over 18, Tuohy claimed he was advised it was not permitted. As for whether the family would be willing to end the conservatorship, he said, "Of course. I want whatever Michael wants."
He called Oher's allegations "insulting," adding, "But, look, it's a crazy world. You've got to live in it. It's obviously upset everybody."
Matthew Sharpe/Getty Images Michael Oher and Leigh Anne Tuohy
Speaking to ESPN Monday, Oher's attorney J. Gerard Stranch IV said his client grew suspicious of the family after the film had depicted him as unintelligent. "Their relationship continued to deteriorate as he learned that he was the only member of the family not receiving royalty checks from the movie, and it was permanently fractured when he realized he wasn't adopted and a part of the family," Stranch said. (Oher has addressed this before, telling ESPN in 2015 that the movie hurt his career and noting, "People look at me, and they take things away from me because of a movie. They don't really see the skills and the kind of player I am.")
Stranch said Oher didn't initially investigate the conservatorship as it coincided with his successful NFL career, but sought counsel after he retired in 2016. "Mike didn't grow up with a stable family life," Stranch said. "When the Tuohy family told Mike they loved him and wanted to adopt him, it filled a void that had been with him his entire life. Discovering that he wasn't actually adopted devastated Mike and wounded him deeply."
Reps for Leigh Anne Tuohy have not responded to EW's request for comment.
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