Current:Home > ContactRekubit-Michael Oher, Subject of The Blind Side, Speaks Out on Lawsuit Against Tuohy Family -Ascend Wealth Education
Rekubit-Michael Oher, Subject of The Blind Side, Speaks Out on Lawsuit Against Tuohy Family
Chainkeen View
Date:2025-04-08 06:16:57
Michael Oher is sharing his perspective.
After filing a lawsuit against the Tuohy family last year,Rekubit the 38-year-old subject of the Oscar-winning film The Blind Side, has spoken out about his estrangement from Sean Tuohy and Leigh Anne Tuohy amid the legal battle.
“For a long time, I was so angry mentally,” the former NFL star told The New York Times. “With what I was going through. I want to be the person I was before The Blind Side, personality-wise. I’m still working on it.”
Oher, who is suing the Tuohy family for exploiting his name, image, and likeness to promote speaking engagements that have allegedly earned them millions, said that he chose not to speak out at the time the 2009 film starring Sandra Bullock and Quinton Aaron was released because he was focused on the start of his professional career with the Baltimore Ravens.
“Pro football’s a hard job,” he said. “You have to be locked in 100 percent. I went along with their narrative because I really had to focus on my NFL career, not things off the field.”
Oher also fought back against claims that he is now suing the Tuohy family because he needs money.
“I worked hard for that moment when I was done playing, and saved my money so I could enjoy the time,” the father of four said. “I’ve got millions of dollars. I’m fine.”
Oher’s story was first documented in Michael Lewis’ book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. (In his book, Lewis shares he is a childhood friend of Sean Tuohy’s). Oher also said that his depiction in the book and subsequent film led to people labeling him as “stupid.”
“The NFL people were wondering if I could read a playbook,” Oher said, adding of his response to the film, “It’s hard to describe my reaction. It seemed kind of funny to me, to tell you the truth, like it was a comedy about someone else. It didn’t register. But social media was just starting to grow, and I started seeing stuff that I’m dumb. I’m stupid. Every article about me mentioned The Blind Side, like it was part of my name.”
Oher also addressed the text messages between himself and the Tuohy family, included in a December legal filing obtained by People, in which they claimed he began demanding money, calling them “thieves.”
“I was just still trying to figure things out,” Oher said of the texts. “I didn’t think anything of it.”
Oher claimed that the texts “lit a fuse” and said he began to receive royalty checks for the film for the first time. However, the Tuohys have said that he had already been receiving royalties, a claim he denies.
Oher’s relationship with the Tuohy family has been further strained by the claim that he was adopted despite an adoption never taking place. Oher was placed under a conservatorship, despite not having any disability, and the Tuohys referred to him as their “adopted son.”
In an affidavit obtained by The New York Times, Leigh Anne said her use of the word adopted, “was always meant in its colloquial sense, to describe the family relationship we felt with Mr. Oher; it was never meant as a legal term of art.”
Oher’s lawyer Anne Johnson responded to Leigh Anne’s statement at the time, saying, “Adoption doesn’t have a colloquial meaning, and it’s not a word you throw around lightly. As an 18-year-old, he was told that he was made a part of the family. He believed that, but it wasn’t true.”
The conservatorship was terminated in September 2023 with the judge saying she "cannot believe" the arrangement was ever put in place.
Oher also spoke about the impact the Tuohys had on his emotional state growing up without a stable household.
“The first time I heard ‘I love you,’ it was Sean and Leigh Anne saying it,” he said. “When that happens at 18, you become vulnerable. You let your guard down and then you get everything stripped from you. It turns into a hurt feeling.”
He added, “I don’t want to make this about race, but what I found out was that nobody says ‘I love you’ more than coaches and white people. When Black people say it, they mean it.”
E! News has reached out to the Tuohys for comment and has not yet heard back.
veryGood! (43753)
Related
- McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
- When do cicadas come out? See 2024 emergence map as sightings are reported across the South
- Harvey Weinstein to appear in NY court following 2020 rape conviction overturn
- 'Welcome to Wrexham' Season 3: Release date, where to watch Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's docuseries
- Small twin
- Man snags $14,000 Cartier earrings for under $14 due to price error, jeweler honors price
- The Islamic State group says it was behind a mosque attack in Afghanistan that killed 6 people
- Badass Moms. 'Short-Ass Movies.' How Netflix hooks you with catchy categories.
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- United Methodists repeal longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy
Ranking
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- Badass Moms. 'Short-Ass Movies.' How Netflix hooks you with catchy categories.
- Charges revealed against former Trump chief of staff in Arizona fake elector case
- Barbra Streisand explains Melissa McCarthy Ozempic comment: 'Forgot the world is reading'
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- Stock market today: Asian stocks follow Wall St tumble. Most markets in the region close for holiday
- At least 9 dead, dozens treated in Texas capital after unusual spike in overdoses
- More Republican states challenge new Title IX rules protecting LGBTQ+ students
Recommendation
'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
Union Pacific undermined regulators’ efforts to assess safety, US agency says
Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey’s Twins Look All Grown Up on 13th Birthday
News organizations have trust issues as they gear up to cover another election, a poll finds
Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
In Season 3 of 'Hacks,' Jean Smart will make you love to laugh again: Review
Dance Moms' Nia Sioux Reveals Why She Skipped Their Reunion
More than half of cats died after drinking raw milk from bird flu-infected cows