Michael Oher says he was never adopted, but was instead forced into a guardianship that stripped him of any royalties from the hit movie.
Michael Oher, the former NFL star whose story became famous in the Oscar-winning movie The Blind Side, revealed in a Tennessee lawsuit that the film’s central premise – his adoption by the wealthy white Tuohy family – was actually a big lie.
Oher claims that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, the parents who invited him to live with them during his senior year of high school, tricked him into signing a document that made them his guardians under the guise of adoption.
+ 7 signs of negative energy in a person
+ Looking for a small companion dog? Check out the 15 best breeds
Oher said he signed the document less than three months after turning 18, trusting the family when they said the guardianship arrangement was necessary to join the family because he was no longer a minor.
In reality, Oher now claims that the document meant he never officially joined the Tuohy family, even though Sean and Leigh Anne insisted he call them mom and dad.
The document, however, allowed the Tuohys to profit millions from his story.
Oher’s request was to ask a judge to remove Sean and Leigh Anne as his guardians and to issue an injunction ensuring they can no longer profit from his name, image, and likeness.
He also asked for a judge to order the Tuohys to pay him a portion of The Blind Side’s royalties – which grossed $309 million at the box office – which he claims were deceitfully taken from him.
Speaking to the Daily Memphian on Monday, Sean Tuohy said the family was “devastated” by Oher’s allegations.
Tuohy also said he began to feel Oher drifting away from the family “perhaps a year and a half ago”, but he was still surprised by recent events.
Insisting he still wants the best for Oher, Tuohy suggested he would not fight the petition – at least, the part asking for the dissolution of the conservatorship. “I want what Michael wants,” he said.
Source: thedailybeast
