The Blind Side’s Touchy family have shared texts from Michael Oher which they are claiming he was demanding millions from them.
NFL star Oher and his adopted family rose to fame following the release of the 2009 film, The Blind Side starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw. The film was based on Oher’s life and how he rose to fame as a football star with the help of the Tuohy family, who took him in when he was homeless.
Oher claims he was under the impression that he had been adopted by the family, but its since been revealed that it was a conservatorship agreement and not an adoptive one.
The agreement, signed by Oher when he was 18-years-old, allowed the Tuohy family to control his finances.
In a lawsuit filed earlier this year, Oher accused the Tuohys of “tricking him” to signing the documentation and alleged that they they used the movie as a way of making millions from him.
Lawyers for the family have described the claims as “hurtful and absurd”, claiming that it was “transparently ridiculous” that they had tried to profit off him. A judge dissolved the conservatorship this year.
Oher alleges that Tuohys were paid $225,000 (£178,000) and 2.5 per cent of the profits from the film, but their lawyer argues each member of the family, including Oher, received an identical amount each, with each receiving $138,000 (£109,000).
Prior to the lawsuit, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy claimed Oher had tried to “shake them down” for $15 million (£11.9 million), something they’re now alleging to have proof of via a series of text messages.
In documents seen by TMZ, Oher had allegedly sent texts to the Tuohy family saying he was “robbed of fifty million+”. He is later said to have asked for $10million (£8million) in settlement.
The documents reportedly reveal the Tuohy’s rejected the $10million demand with Oher then asking for “15 after taxes.”
NME has reached out to Oher and the Tuohy’s attorneys for comment.