The Blind Side Tuohy family fire back at NFL star who inspired Sandra Bullock film’s ‘hurtful and absurd’ lawsuit-Tori Brazier-Entertainment – Metro

Michael Oher has claimed his adoptive family misled and profited off him, which they deny (Picture: Rex/Instagram/Leigh Anne Tuohy)

The family who took NFL star Michael Oher into their home, inspiring the film The Blind Side, say claims they misled the player about his adoption are ‘outlandish, hurtful and absurd’.

On Monday, Oher filed a petition claiming that Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy placed him under a conservatorship, rather than adopting him, and have enriched themselves at his expense.

The 37-year-old former tackle has asked for the conservatorship to be terminated, along with requesting a full accounting of the money earned from the use of his name and story.

His story was made into the 2009 film The Blind Side, which starred Quinton Aaron as Oher, Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy, and Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy.

Making more than $309million (£243m) at the box office, court papers state that the Tuohys used their position as his conservators to negotiate a deal that saw them and their two biological children paid for the film.

The lawsuit claims that each of the four members of the Tuohy family were paid $225,000 (£177,000) plus 2.5% per cent of the film’s ‘defined net proceeds’, while Oher – who won the Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2013 – received nothing.

Oher with Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy in 2008, who placed him under a conservatorship when they took him in as a high school student (Picture: Getty)

The movie was nominated for two Academy Awards in 2010, including best picture, and best actress for Bullock – which she won.

According to the petition, filed on Monday in Shelby County Probate Court, in Tennessee, Oher discovered the lie about his alleged adoption ‘to his chagrin and embarrassment’ in February 2023.

‘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,’ it stated.

However, the Tuohys have now hit back against Oher’s claims via their lawyer, who branded them ‘hurtful and absurd’.

Quinton Aaron and Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side, the film made about Oher’s story (Picture: Warner Bros Pictures/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

In a lengthy statement shared with the PA news agency Martin Singer, attorney for Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, said Oher had attempted to ‘run this play before’.

‘Anyone with a modicum of common sense can see that the outlandish claims made by Michael Oher about the Tuohy family are hurtful and absurd,’ the statement read.

‘The idea that the Tuohys have ever sought to profit off Mr Oher is not only offensive, it is transparently ridiculous.

‘Through hard work and good fortune, Sean and Leigh Anne have made an extraordinary amount of money in the restaurant business.

Bullock won the best actress Oscar in 2010 for her performance (Picture: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)

‘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 continued: ‘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. His response was to threaten them including saying that he would plant a negative story about them in the press unless they paid him $15million (£11.8m).’

Singer added that the Tuohys had ‘always been up front’ with how Oher’s conservatorship had been established.

The statement added: ‘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.

The Tuohys have labelled Oher’s claims as ‘hurtful and absurd’ (Picture: Instagram)

‘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 released his first memoir I Beat The Odds, in 2011, and is currently promoting his second – When Your Back’s Against The Wall.

Singer’s statement added: ‘The Tuohys will always care deeply for Mr Oher. They are heartbroken over these events.

‘They desperately hope that he comes to regret his recent decisions, makes different choices in the future and that they someday can be reconciled with him.

‘In the meantime, however, they will not hesitate to defend their good names, stand up to this shakedown and defeat this offensive lawsuit.’

In response to Singer’s statement, Oher’s reps issued a statement, via People magazine, which read: ‘We try cases in the courtroom based on the facts. We have confidence in our judicial system and in our client Michael Oher.

Oher’s NFL career, from which he retired in 2016, saw him win the Super Bowl (Picture: Getty)

‘We believe that justice will be served in the courtroom, and we hope to get there quickly.’

It continued: ‘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.’

Singer’s statement also argued that the Tuohys have ‘given Mr Oher an equal cut of every penny received from’ the film, all of which he claims has been ‘documented in profit participation checks and studio accounting statements.’

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