The Tuohys are speaking out.
On Monday, Sean Tuohy responded to a startling petition filed by former NFL player Michael Oher, who was the subject of the film “The Blind Side”.
In his filing, Oher alleged that despite years of Sean and his wife Leigh Anne Tuohy claiming that they had adopted Oher, they had instead tricked him into signing documents making them his conservators.
Oher has alleged that the Tuohys used their status as his conservators to make business deals that earned them millions off their “lie.”
READ MORE: ‘The Blind Side’ Subject Michael Oher Alleges Tuohy Family Lied About Adoption
In an interview with the Daily Memphian, Sean shared his reaction to news of the petition and the allegations against him and his wife.
“We’re devastated,” he said. “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.”
Despite the 2009 movie “The Blind Side”, which won Sandra Bullock a Best Actress Oscar, earning $300 million at the box office, Sean said that the family didn’t see any of that profit.
“We didn’t make any money off the movie,” Tuohy said. “Well, Michael Lewis (the author of the book The Blind Side) gave us half of his share. Everybody in the family got an equal share, including Michael. It was about $14,000, each.”
He continued, “We were never offered money; we never asked for money. My money is well-documented; you can look up how much I sold my company for.”
According to Sean, he made his money by selling his fast-food franchise over multiple transactions totalling $213 million.
Sean went on to explain that the conservatorship, which was signed after Oher had turned 18, arose in order to allow him to play football for Ole Miss under NCAA rules.
“Michael was obviously living with us for a long time, and the NCAA didn’t like that,” Tuohy said. “They said the only way Michael could go to Ole Miss was if he was actually part of the family. 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.’ 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.”
Despite his claim, Tennessee law does in fact allow for “adult adoption” for people over the age of 18.
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Asked if he’s willing to end the conservatorship, Sean said, “Of course. I want whatever Michael wants.”
Sean went on to express his feelings about the situation between his family and Oher following the petition filing.
“It’s upsetting, but it’s life, what are you going to do? Certain people will believe us and certain people won’t,” he said. “It’s hard because you have to defend yourself, but whatever he wants, we’ll do. We’re not in this for anything other than whatever he wants. If he’d have said, ‘I don’t want to be part of the family anymore,’ we’d have been very upset, but we absolutely would have done it.
He added, “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.”
Subsequently, the Tuohys’ attorney, Marty Singer, issued a lengthy statement to Variety alleging that Oher had “threatened” to leak negative stories about the couple to the media unless they paid him $15 million, which he described as a “shakedown effort.”
READ MORE: Michael Oher Asks For Privacy Amid Conservatorship Battle With Tuohys: ‘This Is A Difficult Time’
“The Tuohys opened their home to Mr. Oher, offered him structure, support and, most of all, unconditional love. They have consistently treated him like a son and one of their three children. His response was to threaten them, including saying that he would plant a negative story about them in the press unless they paid him $15 million,” Singer wrote.
“Over the years, the Tuohys have given Mr. Oher an equal cut of every penny received from ‘The Blind Side’,” Singer continued.
“The Tuohys will always care deeply for Mr. Oher. They are heartbroken over these events,” Singer’s statement concluded. “They desperately hope that he comes to regret his recent decisions, makes different choices in the future and that they someday can be reconciled with him. In the meantime, however, they will not hesitate to defend their good names, stand up to this shakedown and defeat this offensive lawsuit.”