Subject of Oscar-winning The Blind Side alleges movie plot was a lie

The movie made over $300 million upon release and won Sandra Bullock an Oscar.

Michael Oher, the former American footballer whose life story inspired the Oscar-winning sports drama The Blind Side, is now claiming that the adoption depicted in the hit movie was a "lie". Based on the 2006 book of the same name, the film showed Oher (played by Quinton Aaron) overcoming an impoverished upbringing to play in the NFL with the help of his adoptive parents Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy (Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw). Made on a reported budget of $29 million, the movie went on to gross over $300 million upon its release in 2009. It was also nominated for two Oscars in the Best Picture and Best Actress categories, with Bullock winning in the latter.

Sandra Bullock, who won an Oscar for The Blind Side, with the real Leigh Anne Tuohy

However, in court documents filed in Tennessee this week, Oher alleges that Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy did not adopt him but instead tricked him into making the couple his conservators just after he turned 18. A conservatorship is a US court order which appoints a parent or legal guardian to manage the personal or financial affairs of another person who is incapable of fully overseeing their own affairs due to their age or disability. As reported in multiple outlets, Oher claims in the petition that the Tuohys took full control over his "ability to negotiate for or enter any contract, despite the fact he was over 18 years of age and had no diagnosed physical or psychological disabilities." He also alleges that this enabled the Tuohys to sign deals that netted them and their two birth children millions of dollars but excluded him from that income.

Michael Oher

Oher states that he received no royalties for The Blind Side, despite the fact that the movie "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 petition 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.”

With the petition, Oher is seeking financial compensation, along with an end to the conservatorship and to the Tuohy family using his image and name to promote themselves. Responding to the court filing, Sean Tuohy said he and Leigh Anne are "devastated" by Oher's claims. "It’s upsetting to think we would make money off any of our children. But we’re going to love Michael at 37 just like we loved him at 16," he told The Daily Memphian.

"We didn’t make any money off the movie. Well, [The Blind Side author] Michael Lewis gave us half of his share. Everybody in the family got an equal share, including Michael. It was about $14,000, each. We were never offered money. We never asked for money. My money is well-documented. You can look up how much I sold my company for. I will say it’s upsetting that people would think I would want to make money off any of my children."

Sean claimed to the outlet that the conservatorship was so that he and Leigh Anne could help Oher go to college. He also said the couple will terminate it if that is what the former American footballer wants.

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