The story of Michael Oher, the retired NFL star who was supposedly adopted by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy and lifted him out of poverty, was immortalised in the 2009 Oscar-winning blockbuster film The Blind Side. But now, Oher alleges that much of that heartwarming tale is a lie crafted by the family in order to profit off of his name.
Who is Michael Oher?
Michael Oher is a retired NFL footabll player. He was one of 12 children born to Denise Oher who struggled with drug addiction. Oher was placed in foster care before his 11th birthday and also spent time living on the streets.
Oher had been living with several foster families. In 2004, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, a wealthy couple with a daughter and son allowed Oher to live with them and adopted him, (although Oher has now alleged that they instead tricked him into signing a document making them conservators.)
Oher's life through his final year of high school and first year of college is one of the subjects of Michael Lewis' 2006 book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, and was featured in the Academy Award-winning 2009 film The Blind Side.
What is the Michael Oher lawsuit about?
In a 14-page petition filed Monday in Shelby County, 37-year-old Oher alleges that Sean and Leigh Anne never actually adopted him, instead tricking him into ceding his authority to make business deals by making the couple his conservators at age 18.
Per ESPN, Oher claims that the Tuohys arranged the deal that paid them and their two birth children millions of dollars in royalties from the Oscar-winning movie, which raked in more than $300 million at the box office - whilst Oher received no payment.
The ex-NFL player also alleges that the conservatorship 'provided him no familial relationship with the Tuohys,' despite the family continuing to call him their 'adopted son' and use the relationship to promote their foundation and Leigh Anne’s work as an author and motivational speaker.
What is a conservatorship?
Conservatorship is a legal status in which a court appoints a person to manage the financial and personal affairs of a minor or incapacitated person. A conservator may also serve as a guardian who is responsible for establishing and monitoring the physical care of the individual and managing their living arrangements. Celebrities like Britney Spearsand Amanda Bynes have been public with their struggles under conservatorships by their respective families.
Have Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy responded to Michael Oher's lawsuit?
The couple who inspired the book and Oscar-winning film have responded to Michael's bombshell claims that they tricked him into making them his conservators in order to swindle him. In an interview with the Daily Memphian, Sean said, 'It’s upsetting to think we would make money off any of our children,' adding the family is 'devastated' by Oher’s claims.
Mr Tuohy said the conservatorship was drawn up so that Oher could play football at the University of Mississipi. They said 'the only way Michael could go to Ole Miss was if he was actually part of the family.'
'We contacted lawyers who had told us that we couldn’t adopt over the age of 18; the only thing we could do was to have a conservatorship. We were so concerned it was on the up-an-and-up that we made sure the biological mother came to court,' he said.
He added, 'We didn’t make any money off the movie. Well, Michael Lewis, the [author of the book on which the movie was based] gave us half of his share. Everybody in the family got an equal share, including Michael. It was about $14,000 each.”
Sean added that he is happy to end the conservatorship. 'I want whatever Michael wants,' he told the outlet. It’s hard because you have to defend yourself, but whatever he wants, we’ll do.'