Michael Oher is asking for privacy after filing a legal petition aimed at the Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, whose efforts to adopt him as as teenager were dramatized in the Sandra Bullock-starring feature “The Blind Side”.
In Oher’s petition, he claims that the couple never actually legally adopted him, but hoodwinked him into becoming his conservators in 2004, when he was just 18 years old, when he signed what he believed to be adoption papers.
“Michael trusted the Tuohys and signed where they told him to sign,” the former NFL player’s legal filing claims. “What he signed, however, and unknown to Michael until after February 2023, were not adoption papers, or the equivalent of adoption papers.”
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‘The Blind Side’ Subject Michael Oher Alleges Tuohy Family Lied About Adoption
“I am disheartened by the revelation shared in the lawsuit today,” Oher, who played eight seasons in the NFL, said in a statement to People.
“This is a difficult situation for my family and me,” his statement continued. “I want to ask everyone to please respect our privacy at this time. For now, I will let the lawsuit speak for itself and will offer no further comment.”
In the petition he filed Monday, Oher alleges that he was denied participation in the profits of “The Blind Side”, which brought in more than $300 million worldwide, a film that Oher stated “would not have existed without him.”
In his filing, Oher alleges that all four members of the Tuohy family were paid $225,000 for the film, in addition to 2.5 per cent of the film’s proceeds in residual cheques, which he said he doesn’t receive.
Sean Tuohy, however, claimed that they never received anything near that amount, insisting the four received about $14,000 each.