The drama between Michael Oher and the Tuohy family is escalating. Earlier this week, a petition was filed by Oher to end the conservatorship the Tuohys had placed him in instead of adopting him. He alleged that the family has made "millions" off of him and his story, and he hasn’t seen that money.
Now Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy are speaking out against his claims.
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Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy are maintaining their innocence.
"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," the family’s lawyer, Marty Singer, said via a statement shared by The Hollywood Reporter.
"They insisted that any money received be divided equally. And they have made good on that pledge."
The Tuohys are standing firm in their belief that they have done nothing wrong and that Oher is the villain in this story.
According to them, Oher is just looking for a payday.
The Tuohys claim that Oher is trying to extort them for $15 million. Additionally, they also claim that the timing of Oher's lawsuit filing was done "as a cynical attempt to drum up attention in the middle of his latest book tour."
They did confirm Oher’s claim, however, that they and their children received a lump sum payment and shared profits in the deal they signed with 20th Century Studios.
The Tuohys say they shared the money from 'The Blind Side' with Oher.
In the petition, Oher’s lawyers claimed that he "received nothing for his rights to a $330 million story that would not have existed without him."
According to someone with knowledge of the contract, that deal was already in place when the film was financed.
The Tuohys claim they set aside a share of the money they earned from The Blind Side for Oher but that he "refused" it as a part of his ongoing extortion attempts. That money has been placed in a trust.
The conservatorship is still a sticking point.
Another major part of Oher’s petition deals with the fact that the Tuohys placed him in a conservatorship instead of legally adopting him, as he was led to believe. A conservatorship gave them power over his financial and legal affairs. If he had been adopted instead, he would still have control over his own affairs.
In their statement, the Tuohys claim that they have "always been upfront about how a conservatorship 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."
According to their lawyer, "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." They claim they made no additional money from Oher or his story as his conservators.
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If you ask the Tuohys, Oher should be grateful.
"The Tuohys opened their home to Mr. Oher, offered him structure, support and, most of all, unconditional love," the statement read.
Oher spoke out on Monday after the filing went public, saying, "I am disheartened by the revelation shared in the lawsuit today. 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."
