Michael Oher Blasts 'Blind Side' Family for Allegedly Never Adopting Him, Making Millions Off Lie
Aug. 14 2023, Published 2:14 p.m. ET
Former NFL player Michael Oher, whose story inspired Sandra Bullock's film The Blind Side, claimed he was tricked into a conservatorship by the couple who raised him, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Oher, 37, alleged that the wealthy Tuohy family never actually adopted him — and claimed he never saw a dime from the massively successful film.
In the 2009 film, Bullock played Leigh Ann Tuohy, the prim and proper Southern mother who came to the rescue of then-high school student Oher, a homeless Black teen.
Leigh Ann and husband Sean, played by Tim McGraw, appeared to assume the role of Oher's legal guardians as they hired tutors and nurtured Oher's hidden athletic talents.
In real life, Oher had a much different take on the situation.
Collins, Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy
While Oher was successful in reaching the collegiate football level at Ole Miss, where he played until being selected for the NFL draft, the former offensive lineman said he was never legally apart of the Tuohy family.
According to court documents obtained by ESPN, Oher claimed that Sean and Leigh Ann made up the adoption storyline and instead tricked him into signing conservatorship documents mere days after his 18th birthday in 2004.
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The 14-page complaint, which was filed in Shelby County, Tennessee, claimed the conservatorship forms gave Sean and Leigh Ann legal authority over Oher.
With their legal authority, the court filing further alleged that the Tuohy used Oher's life story to land a deal with Warner Bros. to produce The Blind Side, which generated millions in royalties for the Tuohys and their two children, who were featured in the film.
The filing stated that Oher saw none of the money that the family enjoyed from the film's success, despite the fact "that would not have existed without him."
"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," the court filing stated.
"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's petition to the court requested that the conservatorship be ended and asked for an injunction to be issued which would prohibit the Tuohys from using his name and likeness in the future.
Since the movie premiered over a decade ago, Oher claimed the Tuohys continued to falsely refer to him as their adopted son.
Moreover, Leigh Ann was accused of continuing to use Oher and the movie's storyline to promote her own work as an author and motivational speaker, which continued to bring in cash for the well-off family.
The petition also asked for a full accounting report on the Tuohys regarding the profits generated from Oher's story — and requested that his so-called adoptive parents pay back the former NFL player's share of profits, as well as unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
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