“It’s upsetting”: Sean Tuohy Breaks Silence on His Adopted Son Michael Oher’s Heartbreaking Allegations, Says He Never Used His Children to Make Money
Sean Tuohy and his family feel insulted due to the allegations charged by his adopted son, Michael Oher. The NFL star recently discovered that legally, he has no familial relation to the Tuohy family that supposedly adopted him 14 years ago. Former Baltimore Ravens lineman alleges that his adoption, which inspired the blockbuster film, The Blind Side, is a lie.
Grossing more than $300 million at the box office, the sports drama film starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw as Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy was based on a book written by Michael Lewis and released in 2006 titled The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game.
Sean Tuohy Says That Michael Oher’s Legal Claims Are Insulting
The story of Oher and the Tuohys came into the spotlight after the 2009 film The Blind Side, which portrays Oher’s journey growing up in Memphis, being raised by the Tuohys and starring as an offensive lineman for Ole Miss before making his way to the NFL.
Latest updates say that Michael Oher is seeking to end his conservatorship with Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy. Michael Oher’s legal petition alleges that the Tuohy family did not legally adopt him but tricked him into making them his conservators before making millions from his falsified life story, which was depicted in The Blind Side.
Breaking his silence on the same, Sean Tuohy told the Daily Memphian,
“We’re devastated. 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. The last thing I needed was 40 grand from a movie. I will say it’s upsetting that people would think I would want to make money off any of my children.”
Oher alleges that each of the four Tuohy family members, Sean, Leigh Anne, and their two children made $250,000 outright from the movie, according to the petition, in addition to 2.5% in residuals.
Did Michael Oher get paid for The Blind Side?
According to the legal petitions filed, Michael Oher has alleged that he did not receive profits from the film. The filing seeks his “fair share of profits” in addition to “unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.” In 2007, Oher allegedly signed a contract that gave away his life rights to the Tuohys “without any payment whatsoever.” Though now, he does not remember signing the contract, and if he did, he was not clear on its meaning.
On the other hand, ESPN reports say that the Tuohys have denied making a lot of money from the movie. They claimed they received a flat fee for the story and did not reap any of the movie’s profits, and what they did earn was shared with Oher. As per Oher, the Tuohy family, portrayed as Oher’s adoptive family in the film, allegedly negotiated a handsome payout for themselves.
Source: Daily Memphian
