Michael Oher, the former NFL player whose story was the inspiration for the Academy Award-winning film The Blind Side, is accusing the family who took him in for lying and profiting from his name.
Oher and the Tuohy family rose to global popularity when the 2009 film, based on a book of the same name by Michael Lewis, told the incredible story of Oher's journey from living on the streets to the National Football League.
In the film Oher, who is black, grew up in poverty before being adopted by Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy. The wealthy white family give Oher a place to live in their home, help him through high school, and he slowly becomes a full member of their family. With their help, Oher also succeeds on the football field and is eventually drafted into the NFL.
However, Oher filed a 14-page petition in a Tennessee court on Monday, claiming the Tuohys never adopted him and instead tricked him into becoming his conservators when he turned 18 in 2004, according to ESPN.
The petition claims that as his conservators, the Tuohys had legal authority to make business deals in his name, including one that earned them royalties from The Blind Side.
The movie became a critically acclaimed blockbuster, reportedly grossing more than $500 million NZD at the box office, and tens of millions of dollars more in video sales. Oher claims that due to their conservatorship deals, the Tuohys and their two birth children received millions of dollars in royalties while Oher received no money from the film's success.
Sandra Bullock also received an Oscar for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy in the film.
ESPN reports Michael Oher discovered the lie in February of 2023, when he learned that the conservatorship didn't actually provide him with any familial relationship with the Tuohys. Oher alleges he originally consented to conservatorship because the Tuohy's claimed it would make him a member of the family.
In his 2011 best-selling memoir, Oher wrote : "They explained to me that it means pretty much the exact same thing as 'adoptive parents,' but that the laws were just written in a way that took my age into account."
Oher’s petition asks the court to end the Tuohys' conservatorship and to stop the family from using his name and image to promote their work. He is also seeking financial compensation from the family.
The Tuohys have yet to comment on the allegations.
