Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy have agreed to end their conservatorship over Michael Oher after he called out the couple.
The former NFL player had previously been told that the couple was adopting him when he was a teenager. However, due to him being 18 at the time, he was under the impression that his form of adoption was instead called a conservatorship. He spoke about this during his 2011 memoir “I Beat the Odds.” Unbeknownst to him, this was not a means of making him legally a part of the Tuohy family. Instead, it was actually a method for the Tuohys to make business decisions on behalf of Oher, including having his life story portrayed in “The Blind Side.” This year, Oher learned the truth and filed a lawsuit against the couple.
The Tuohys have fired back against Oher, calling his claims “hurtful and absurd.”
“In reality, 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,” their attorney, Martin Singer, shared in a statement. He also argues that Oher threatened the family to go public with his story unless they paid him $15 million.
Oher has accused the couple of making millions from using his name and likeness in their endeavors since the film was released in November 2009. He is seeking an injunction barring them from using his name and likeness. However, the Tuohys legal team is challenging this, even coming after Oher for referring to the couple as his conservators at least three times in his book. Sadly, he has been estranged from his “adoptive” parents for nearly ten years, leading many to believe their money feud was ongoing.
