The ugly battle over the money from the movie The Blind Side — and over the reputations of the parties involved — is continuing in court, where the Tuohy family claimed ex-NFL player Michael Oher had effectively blackmailed them.
First, let’s rewind a few months: In August, Oher accused Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy in Tennessee probate court of taking millions of dollars that Oher says he was owed from the 2009 movie; instead of being properly adopted by the Tuohys, Oher claims he was placed in a conservatorship so the couple could benefit from his name and career, including his share from the film. On Monday, the Tuohys alleged in a court filing that Oher had threatened to “defame them on social media and/or TMZ as ‘fakes’ or ‘thieves’ if his money demands weren’t met.” On two occasions in the past two years, the Tuohys say, Oher demanded they give him $10 million, then $15 million; in exchange for the payments, he allegedly said he would not go public with his allegations that the Tuohys were in it for the money.
“If something isn’t resolved this Friday, I’m going to go ahead and tell the world, how I was robbed by my suppose to be [sic] parents,” Oher wrote in one text, according to the filing. “Think how it will look when this comes out.” In another text quoted in the filing, Oher allegedly told the Tuohys to “call my lawyer if you want to negotiate.” He then allegedly said, “Let me head over to social media.”
The Tuohys have denied they took any money that Oher says he was owed and said they paid him $138,000 from the movie, the same amount they and their two children each received.
Although the probate court ruled to end the conservatorship over the summer, Oher continues to sue the Tuohys for damages and for using his name and likeness over all these years. The Tuohys — who have made millions in the fast-food business — claim to the court that they should still be able to use Oher’s name and likeness in promotional materials and public appearances because he is “a part of their personal and family story.”
