Retired NFL star Michael Oher, whose supposed adoption out of grinding poverty by a wealthy, white family was immortalized in the 2009 movie "The Blind Side," petitioned a Tennessee court Monday with allegations that a central element of the story was a lie concocted by the family to enrich itself at his expense.
The Blind Side film received mixed reviews and also soon found itself at the center of controversy. Critics argued that the portrayal of Oher played into Uncle Tom stereotypes about Black people as submissive to white authority.
Oher accused the Tuohys of representing themselves as his adoptive parents publicly and for their benefit. The Tuohys said they were referring to Oher as a son “in the colloquial sense and they have never intended that reference to be viewed with legal implication.”
'Blind Side' Subject's Conservatorship Terminated Amid Legal Fight Over Movie Profits. Michael Oher has accused Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy of placing him under a conservatorship to exploit his story and career.
Former NFL offensive tackle and Ole Miss standout Michael Oher — the subject of the 2009 movie “The Blind Side” — alleged Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, a wealthy Memphis couple, lied about adopting him and tricked him into agreeing to a conservatorship, according to a court filing.
Michael Oher of 'The Blind Side' claims Tuohys never adopted him
Did the Tuohy family take advantage of Michael Oher?
Michael Oher accuses Tuohys of enriching themselves at his expense. Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy hit back at former NFL star Michael Oher in a new court filing Thursday, saying they never intended to adopt him and denied enriching themselves off his name. The Tuohys took in Oher, now 37, when he was in high school.
The Tuohys said the conservatorship was the tool chosen to comply with NCAA rules that would have kept Oher from attending Ole Miss, where Sean Tuohy had been a standout basketball player.
What is the problem between Michael Oher and the Tuohys?
In the filing, obtained Tuesday by The Times, Oher accused the couple of keeping nearly two decades' worth of financial information from their ward — whom they had referred to for years as their adopted son — and used him for their business and marketing ventures without his fully informed consent.
Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy say they paid Michael Oher more than $138,000 of proceeds from the blockbuster film and preceding book “The Blind Side,” despite the former NFL player's claim that the couple never paid him his share of the profits, court documents say.
A Tennessee judge ruled Sept. 29 that she will end former NFL player Michael Oher's conservatorship agreement with Sean and Leigh Anne Touhy, a court order obtained by NBC News confirmed, after he had filed a lawsuit claiming they had duped him into thinking they adopted him in 2004 when he was a senior in high school.
After Oher initiated the case, Sean Tuohy said Oher wasn't adopted because lawyers told them they could not adopt someone over the age of 18. That has been shown to be inaccurate; under Tennessee law, they could have adopted him. So they admit they didn't adopt him.
In a lengthy statement sent to PEOPLE on Thursday afternoon, Alcon Entertainment co-founders and co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove defended the film's authenticity and clarified that Oher, now 37, and the four members of the Tuohy family were collectively paid approximately $767,000 in payments delivered ...
Leigh Anne Tuohy (née Roberts; born August 9, 1960) is an American businesswoman and interior designer. She was the guardian of the football player Michael Oher. Their story was featured in the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game and its 2009 feature film adaptation The Blind Side.
Michael was released by the squad in July 2017 after a failed physical, having suffered a concussion the prior season. He then retired from the NFL at the age of 30. Michael is a published author, writing the 2011 best selling memoir, I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness to The Blind Side and Beyond.
The car accident was on a different street. But the scene where Michael Oher stops an air bag from hitting their son wasn't embellished. "That's 100 percent accurate,” Sean said. "The car behind them was someone from the basketball team.
How much money did the Tuohys take from Michael Oher?
The pair denied that the Tuohys were paid millions by their company for the film, sharing that Alcon paid “$767,000 to the talent agency that represents the Tuohy family and Michael Oher (who, presumably, took commission before passing it through).” A source close to the film told NBC News the Tuohys received about ...
Sean Tuohy and Leigh Anne Tuohy's net worth in 2023 (estimate): $100 million. Sean Tuohy and Leigh Anne Tuohy's combined net worth in 2023 is $100 million. This is according to reputable outlets such as Celebrity Net Worth.
In their 2010 book reflecting on their life story that inspired the Oscar-winning film The Blind Side, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy make dozens of references to adopting Michael Oher despite claiming in a recent legal filing there was “never an intent to adopt” him.
Tuohy sold his company for $220 million.” Martin Singer, an attorney for the Tuohys, said that profit participation checks and studio accounting statements support their assertions. The movie won Sandra Bullock an Oscar for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy.
Did Michael Oher know he was under conservatorship?
Tuohy family lawyers say Michael Oher knew he was in conservatorship and wrote about it in 2011. "In 2011, he acknowledged in that book on three separate occasions in that book, that there was in fact a conservatorship," the lawyers said.
How much did Sandra Bullock get paid for the blind side?
How much did Sandra Bullock make for starring in 'The Blind Side'? According to The New York Times, her salary for starring in 'The Blind Side' was reportedly set at 5m dollars, which remains substantial for any professional actor.
She was a student of the game.” The two got to be close friends and, on the night of the Oscars, the Tuohys sat four rows behind Bullock, when she was named Best Actress. “She expected me to Erin Brockovich her and run up on stage. I was not going to do that.
Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy net worth: How did they make their money? Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy were successful franchisees, owning 115 Taco Bell, KFC and Taco Bell/KFC co-branded restaurants in six states, as well as seven Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers locations.
