The Blind Side scandal is only just beginning.
On Monday morning, NFL star Michael Oher, who inspired the 2009 Sandra Bullock flick about an impoverished Black teenager taken in by a wealthy white family, shocked the world when he filed a petition in a Tennessee court alleging he was NOT adopted by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy as had been believed, but instead tricked into agreeing to a conservatorship. He argued the conservatorship was a way for the family to manage all his business deals and exploit him for fame and fortune — and it wasn’t something he was totally aware of until February 2023.
Now, he is not only defending his lawsuit, but his embattled (former? fake?) adoptive family members are speaking out against the nasty allegations!
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Doubling Down
The Baltimore Ravens player released a brief statement after the filing made headlines, simply saying via the New York Post on Monday:
“I am disheartened by the revelation shared in the lawsuit today. This is a difficult situation for my family and me. 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.”
While the 37-year-old is standing by what he has to say, his so-called adoptive father is clapping back!
Sean Tuohy On The Defense
Sean Tuohy spoke with the Daily Memphian on Monday afternoon — and he made it very clear what he thinks about the “insulting” allegations!
The sports commentator began by claiming he was “devastated” to learn about Michael’s lawsuit, insisting he never tricked the athlete into getting into a conservatorship. Instead, he claims the conservatorship became part of the conversation when the NCAA allegedly told him if Oher wanted to go to Ole Miss (The University of Mississippi), his alma mater, he’d have to be considered part of the family due to Sean’s status as a “booster” at the school. He explained:
“I sat Michael down and told him, ‘If you’re planning to go to Ole Miss — or even considering Ole Miss — we think you have to be part of the family. This would do that, legally.'”
Except there’s a big difference between adoption and a conservatorship. If he’d been adopted, Michael would have retained power over his finances. Instead, he sighed those rights away to the Tuohys. So, why didn’t they just adopt? Sean continued:
“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-and-up that we made sure the biological mother came to court.”
Just for the record, you CAN adopt someone over the age of 18 — you don’t even need to go through as many hoops as adopting a minor, so it’s unclear why they were told otherwise. Now, Sean insisted he’d “of course” end the conservatorship in a heartbeat if that’s what Michael wants. As for allegations he made bank off The Blind Side, he vehemently disagrees. He detailed:
“We didn’t make any money off the movie. Well, Michael Lewis [The Blind Side book author] gave us half of his share. Everybody in the family got an equal share, including Michael. It was about $14,000 each.”
That said, Sean went on to point out he wasn’t in need of any money after he sold his fast-food franchises for over $200 million. Because of this, he’s disgusted anyone would think he’d exploit children for cash:
“I will say it’s upsetting that people would think I would want to make money off any of my children.”
Also, the father said he, his family, and Michael had been very close over the years, but he began to notice some issues pop up about a year and a half ago. He didn’t elaborate much except to muse:
“No question, the allegations are insulting, but, look, it’s a crazy world. You’ve got to live in it. It’s obviously upset everybody.”
The Brother’s POV
Interestingly, Sean’s not the only one speaking out. His son Sean Tuohy Jr., AKA SJ, sat for a lengthy interview with Barstool Sports on Monday, in which he detailed his perspective on the conservatorship scandal, discussed his relationship with the footballer, and speculated about the timing of the lawsuit. SJ — who is one of Sean and Leigh Anne’s two birth children alongside his older sister Collins — began by revealing he wasn’t shocked by the filing:
“I knew it was coming. It was a matter of time…. I was surprised it happened the way it did, but no one was caught off guard.”
@barstoolsports Michael Oher’s “Brother” SJ Tuohy Speaks on the lawsuit from Michael Oher’s Team ???? @Dave Portnoy @Barstool Radio
He also claimed Oher’s relationship with the Tuohys was not impacted by “one moment,” but it had been getting worse since he retired from the NFL in 2016:
“I think when he stopped playing and everything kind of settled down. … I think it built up over time for him.”
Interestingly, SJ is calling out Michael for allegedly lying in his lawsuit. In the papers, the athlete claims he didn’t become aware of the botched adoption process until earlier this year — but SJ thinks that may not be the full truth, he alleged:
“If he says he learned that in February, I find that hard to believe. … There were [texts] back in 2020, 2021, [saying,] ‘If you guys give me this month I won’t go public with things’… I think everyone learned in the past year about the conservatorship stuff because of Britney Spears, so maybe that’s the case.”
While the 30-year-old doesn’t know for sure why his parents didn’t adopt the teenager, he suggested:
“My guess is it started before he was 18 and the process finished after he turned 18 and that was a more clean, legal way of doing it.”
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As for why the conservatorship hasn’t been terminated yet, SJ said it should be a very simple process:
“There’s no money being held… [My dad told me], ‘No, he can be out of [the conservatorship]. We’ll let him out right now.’ If that was the reason for the suit it would be over in five minutes.”
Well, one big factor in this case is money. The offensive tackle has claimed the Tuohys exploited him for money and made tons off the Oscar-winning film when he never saw a dime. He wants to be given his fair share of all profits the family made using his name and wants a judge to stop them from being able to use his name and likeness in the future. He’d also like an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages.
Hitting back at claims he’s made millions from The Blind Side (which garnered over $300 million), SJ said he’s collected just “60 to 70,000 over the course of the last four or five years.” Which, ya know, isn’t chump change, especially if Oher never got anything! He noted the money “is very well documented.” In his lawsuit, Michael claimed each family member (aside from him) was paid $225,000 for the movie, plus 2.5% of the film’s “defined net proceeds.”
@barstoolsports SJ Tuohy on how much money “The Blindside” Made ???? @Barstool Radio @Dave Portnoy
But wait, there’s *more*
The Tuohy’s business dealings might not be the only shady thing in this scandal, depending on who you ask. When asked about the timing of the lawsuit compared to the release of Michael’s new book, When Your Back’s Against the Wall: Fame, Football, and Lessons Learned Through a Lifetime of Adversity, (which hit shelves on August 8), SJ said:
“I don’t know. Truthfully, I read the book. I was a purchaser of the book. I supported it. I think it was very positive. Not towards us, but in terms of someone who is going through it in life. I would never shy away from saying, ‘You should read that.’ There are good truths in there. I don’t know, coincidence or not. It seems, obviously, tough timing.”
Mindful never to slam Michael outright, the basketball player said he will always love his brother from another mother:
“I loved Mike at 16. I love Mike now at 37. And I’ll love him at 67. There’s not going to be any legal dossier or thing that happens that’s gonna make me go, ‘Screw that guy.’ It’s not the case… I understand the anger. I hope it’ll play out. There’s nothing to hide, which makes it easier, but it’s going to stink publicly and a lot of people are going to have opinions on it.”
It’s certainly a tricky spot for him to be. He was just a young teen when his family (pretended…) to adopt Michael. Of course, this must be so complicated for him, but it must be exponentially more shocking and confusing for Michael. We cannot imagine how it feels to unearth a scandal like this…
You can hear everything SJ had to say on the controversy (below):
Thoughts?
[Image via SJ Tuohy/Michael Oher/Instagram]
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