Michael Oher spoke out after filing a legal petition, where he claimed that Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy never adopted him, in a statement to The New York Post on Monday, Aug. 14. The former NFL player, 37, asked for fans to respect his privacy, after opening up about the “difficult situation,” learning that he’d been in a conservatorship, rather than being legally adopted.
Michael, who was the subject of the book and movie The Blind Side, filed the lawsuit, requesting the conservatorship to end and an injunction on the Tuohy family using his name, as well as compensation. “I am disheartened by the revelation shared in the lawsuit today,” he said. “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.”
The legal filing claims that the former NFL player didn’t learn that he’d been in a conservatorship until February 2023. They also said that he didn’t make any money from the hit movie, per ESPN. “Since at least August of 2004, Conservators have allowed Michael, specifically, and the public, generally, to believe that Conservators adopted Michael and have used that untruth to gain financial advantages for themselves and the foundations which they own or which they exercise control,” the filing says. “All monies made in said manner should in all conscience and equity be disgorged and paid over to the said ward, Michael Oher.”
After news broke of the petition, Sean opened up about the lawsuit in a statement to The Daily Memphian. “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,” he said. “Everybody in the family got an equal share [of money from the movie], including Michael. It was about $14,000, each. 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.”
The Tuohy’s youngest child Sean “SJ” Tuohy also spoke about the filing in an interview with Barstool Sports. H said that he found some of the claims “hard to believe,” but he only shared love for Michael. “I’m going to preface this by saying I loved Mike at 16… I love Mike now at 37 and I love him at 67,” he said at the start.