Tuohy family accuses Michael Oher of $15M shakedown attempt

The Tuohy family has responded through their attorney Tuesday to accusations put forth by Michael Oher in a legal petition filed in Tennessee and they claim Oher is trying to shake them down.

Oher claimed in his lawsuit that the Tuohy family signed a conservatorship agreement with him after he was 18 and did not adopt him, despite making it seem like they had. He accused them in the lawsuit of signing the conservatorship so they could financially exploit him (more details here).

Oher also claimed in the lawsuit that the Tuohy family profited from the 2009 hit movie “The Blind Side,” which is based off the Michael Lewis book of the same name. Both the movie and book tell the story of Oher and how he came to live with the Tuohy family, which took him in during high school.

Sean Tuohy, the father of the family, responded by calling Oher’s claims “insulting.” He said that the family made much less money off the movie than people might think, and that all money was split five ways equally between the family members, including Oher.

On Tuesday, the Tuohy’s attorney Marty Singer issued a statement in response to Oher’s allegations. Most notably, Singer said that Oher threatened to “plant a negative story” in the media unless the family paid him $15M.

You can read the attorney’s full statement below:

“Anyone with a modicum of common sense can see that the outlandish claims made by Michael Oher about the Tuohy family are hurtful and absurd. The idea that the Tuohys have ever sought to profit off Mr. Oher is not only offensive, it is transparently ridiculous. Through hard work and good fortune, Sean and Leigh Anne have made an extraordinary amount of money in the restaurant business. The notion that a couple worth hundreds of millions of dollars would connive to withhold a few thousand dollars in profit participation payments from anyone — let alone from someone they loved as a son — defies belief,” the statement said.

“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. His response was to threaten them, including saying that he would plant a negative story about them in the press unless they paid him $15M.

“When Michael Lewis, a friend of Sean’s since childhood, was approached about turning his book on Mr. Oher and the Tuohys into a movie about their family, his agents negotiated a deal where they received a small advance from the production company and a tiny percentage of net profits. They insisted that any money received be divided equally. And they have made good on that pledge.

“The evidence — documented in profit participation checks and studio accounting statements — is clear: over the years, the Tuohys have given Mr. Oher an equal cut of every penny received from ‘The Blind Side.’ Even recently, when Mr. Oher started to threaten them about what he would do unless they paid him an eight-figure windfall and, as part of that shakedown effort refused to cash the small profit checks from the Tuohys, they still deposited Mr. Oher’s equal share into a trust account they set up for his son.

“Additionally, in spite of the false allegation in the lawsuit, the Tuohys have always been upfront about how a conservatorship (from which not one penny was received) was established to assist with Mr. Oher’s needs, ranging from getting him health insurance and obtaining a driver’s license to helping with college admissions. Should Mr. Oher wish to terminate the conservatorship, either now or at anytime in the future, the Tuohys will never oppose it in any way.

“Unbeknownst to the public, Mr. Oher has actually attempted to run this play several times before — but it seems that numerous other lawyers stopped representing him once they saw the evidence and learned the truth. Sadly, Mr. Oher has finally found a willing enabler and filed this ludicrous lawsuit as a cynical attempt to drum up attention in the middle of his latest book tour.

“The Tuohys will always care deeply for Mr. Oher. They are heartbroken over these events. 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.”

As the statement said, the Tuohys claim that Oher always knew about the conservatorship, which was done to help Oher receive health insurance and a driver’s license, in addition to helping him with the NCAA. 

The Tuohys claim Oher has threatened them in the past with similar actions. They seem to believe that Oher is looking for publicity as he tries to sell a book he wrote.

Oher played in the NFL from 2009-16 after playing for Ole Miss from 2005-08. He lived with the Tuohy family in his later high school years.