'Hurtful': Michael Oher Accused of Attempting $15 Million Shakedown on Tuohy Family Before Filing Bombshell Lawsuit
Aug. 15 2023, Published 4:50 p.m. ET
The Tuohy family has fired back at former NFL player Michael Oher's bombshell claims in court, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a lawsuit filed on Monday, Oher, who inspired the Sandra Bullock film The Blind Side, accused the Tuohy family of lying about legally adopting him as a teenager.
Oher also claimed he never saw a dime of the wealth generated by the Oscar-winning film based on his life, which earned Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy, as well as their two biological children, a substantial amount of money.
The Tuohys denied the claims and accused Oher of attempted extortion before taking his allegations to the press.
Speaking through their attorney Marty Singer, the Tuohys claimed that Oher came to them prior to filing his "outlandish" 14-page complaint on Monday.
Singer addressed the family's own accusations in a statement to TMZ Sports.
The statement said Leigh Ann and Sean amassed their wealth "through hard work and good fortune."
"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," he continued.
The Tuohy family
"In reality, the Tuohys opened their home to Mr. Oher, offered him structure, support and, most of all, unconditional love," the statement continued before claiming, "his response was to threaten them, including saying he would plant a negative story about them in the press unless they paid him $15 million."
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- Blindsided: Michael Oher Challenges Tuohy Family in Court Over 'Blind Side' Money, Claims Financial Documents Are 'Contradictory and False'
- Michael Oher Accused of Attempting to Exort $15 Million From Tuohy Family Over 'Blind Side' Royalties
- Ex-NFL Star Michael Oher's Conservatorship With Tuohy Family Terminated, Rules Tennessee Judge
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The statement went on to address Oher's claim that days after his 18th birthday, the couple tricked him into signing a conservatorship, which they used to secure the lucrative movie deal.
The Tuohys claimed that they "negotiated" with Sean's childhood friend Michael Lewis on turning his book about Oher's story into a movie, which included "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," the statement continued. "And they have made good on that pledge."
The family doubled down and claimed Oher was given "an equal cut of every penny received from The Blind Side."
"Even recently, when Mr. Oher started to threaten them about what he would do unless they paid him an eight-figure windfall, and, as part of that shakedown effort refused to cash the small profit checks from the Tuohys, they still deposited Mr. Oher's equal share into a trust account they set up for their son."
The Tuohys additionally denied tricking Oher into the conservatorship, which they claimed was set up to "help with college admissions," "health insurance" and various needs like "obtaining a driver's license."
"Should Mr. Oher wish to terminate the conservatorship, either now or at anytime in the future, the Tuohys will never oppose it in any way," the family said of Oher's petition to the court to end the conservatorship.
The statement additionally alleged that this wasn't the first extortion attempt by Oher.
The Blind Side grossed over $303 million at the box office worldwide. It was reported that each member of the Tuohy family received a $225,000 cut plus 2.5% share of the movie's "defined net proceeds."
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