Tuohy family, depicted in ‘The Blind Side,’ respond to Michael Oher’s allegations, accuse him of $15M ‘shakedown’

Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, the couple who took in former NFL superstar Michael Oher, whose inspiring existence tale used to be the topic of the 2009 movie “The Blind Side,” are breaking their silence over Oher’s allegations that they’ve been profiting off him for years.

According to a observation launched through the Tuohy’s circle of relatives lawyer Martin Singer, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy say they’re “heartbroken over these events” and referred to as Oher’s claims “outlandish.”

“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 observation says. “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. 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.”

“In reality, the Tuohys opened their home to Mr. Oher, offered him structure, support and, most of all, unconditional love,” the observation persevered. “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 $15 million.”

Oher filed a 14-page petition in the probate court of Shelby County, Tennessee, on Aug. 14, in which he alleges that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy tricked him into signing a Petition for Appointment of Conservators, prepared by Debra Branan, a close friend of the Tuohys, soon after he turned 18 in 2004.

Oher’s petition claims that the Tuohys told him that “because he was over the age of eighteen, that the legal action to adopt Michael would have to be called a ‘conservatorship’ but it was, for all intents and purposes, an adoption.” It adds that Oher “did not understand that if the Conservatorship was granted, he was signing away his right to contract for himself.”

In his petition, Oher alleges that the Tuohys have profited off the story of Oher’s adoption, which saw them help him finish high school, get into the University of Mississippi, and later get drafted into the NFL, first playing for the Baltimore Ravens and later for the Tennessee Titans and the Carolina Panthers.

“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 legal filing reads. “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 alleges that the four members of the Tuohy family — including the couple’s two biological children, Sean Tuohy Jr. and Collins Tuohy — received “$225,000.00 plus 2.5% of all future ‘Defined Net Proceeds'” when negotiating for the film “The Blind Side,” which is based on the 2006 book “The Blind Side: Evolution of the Game” by Michael Lewis, a childhood friend of Sean Tuohy.

“The Blind Side,” which starred Quinton Aaron as Oher, was nominated for best picture at the 2010 Academy Awards and won Sandra Bullock the best actress trophy. The film accrued more than $300 million at the worldwide box office, according to The Numbers, but Oher claims in his petition that he received “nothing for his rights to a … story that would not have existed without him.”

In response to Oher’s petition, the Tuohy’s statement claims that when the Tuohys and Oher were approached about turning Lewis’ book into a film, the Tuohys “insisted that any money received be divided equally.”

“Over the years, the Tuohys have given Mr. Oher an equal cut of every penny received from ‘The Blind Side,’” the statement said. “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 his son.”

“Additionally, in spite of the false allegation in the lawsuit, the Tuohys have always been upfront about how a conservatorship (from which not one penny was received) was established to assist with Mr. Oher’s needs, ranging from getting him health insurance and obtaining a driver’s license to helping with college admissions,” the statement continued. “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.”

Still, Oher’s petition alleges the Tuohys, in acting as Oher’s co-conservators, “have dedicated a breach of their fiduciary responsibility so gross and appalling that they will have to be sanctioned through this court docket through disgorgement of all sums of cash gained from this movement image, plus passion from the date of receipt of any fee, and likewise required to pay suitable punitive damages to their ward, Michael Oher, as made up our minds through this court docket.”

“Since a minimum of August 2004, Conservators have allowed Michael, particularly, and the general public, most often, to consider that Conservators followed Michael and feature used that untruth to achieve monetary benefits for themselves and the rules which they personal or which they workout or keep an eye on,” the petition reads. “All monies made in stated means will have to in all sense of right and wrong and fairness be disgorged and paid over to the stated ward, Michael Oher.”

The petition seeks to have the conservatorship terminated for the alleged failure of Oher’s conservators to meet their legal obligations and adds, “This Conservatorship makes no sense as Michael Oher is succesful of dealing with his personal affairs.”

“Petitioner Michael Oher is struggling proceeding damages due to the continuing misuse of his title, symbol and likeness through the Co-Conservators herein, particularly in conjunction with the ongoing false claims that they followed Petitioner at any time,” the petition reads, adding that Oher is “entitled to an injunction prohibiting Conservators from the usage of his title, symbol, and likeness.”

Oher, in his petition, is asking the Tuohys for “accounting for all sums of cash belonging to their stated ward, Michael Oher, and to pay over such sums gained through them, or both of them, as aforesaid, which will have to were paid over to the stated ward, Michael Oher, plus passion from the time of receipt of such sums of cash.”

Additionally, Oher is asking for Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy to pay him compensatory and punitive damages and to pay all costs and attorney fees Oher incurs during the process “for his or her misconduct.”

“I’m disheartened through the revelation shared in the lawsuit nowadays,” Oher said in a statement obtained by ABC News. “This is a hard scenario for my circle of relatives and me. I would like to ask everybody to please admire our privateness at the moment. For now, I will be able to let the lawsuit discuss for itself and can be offering no additional remark.”

Despite the petition, the Tuohy’s ended their statement by saying that they “will always care deeply for Mr. Oher.”

“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,” the statement said. “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 the Tuohy’s statement, Barrett issued a response to the family that said, “we now have self assurance in our judicial machine and in our consumer Michael Oher.”

“We check out instances in the court in keeping with information,” the statement said. “We consider that justice can be served in the court, and we are hoping to get there temporarily.”

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