Former Ole Miss All-American Michael Oher, the subject of the 2009 movie “The Blind Side,” has filed a lawsuit against the Tuohy family alleging the family never legally adopted him and lied about their familial status for profit, according to filings obtained by ESPN. Oher claims he did not receive any money from the film, while all four members of the Tuohy family each received millions of dollars.
The suit alleges Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy did not adopt Oher as the movie portrays, but instead entered him into a conservatorship under the impression that it was essentially the same arrangement as adoption. Under a conservatorship, the Tuohys can enter into deals legally without Oher’s consent — such as the award-winning film starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw that grossed more than $300 million.
A conservatorship also allowed the Tuohys to take control of Oher’s financial life even though he was not a legal member of the family. Adoption, even of a legal adult, does not require any business arrangements. Oher is still not a legal member of the Tuohy family.
“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,” the legal filing reads.
Oher’s filing demands an end to the conservatorship, as well as both compensatory and punitive damages for the arrangement, which has existed for nearly 20 years since Oher signed it soon after his 18th birthday. The four biological members of the Tuohy family each received $225,000 and 2.5% of “defined net proceeds” from the film. Oher received nothing for signing his life rights over to 20th Century Fox Studios.
In addition to the movie, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy also wrote a book about their experience….
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