This week retired football player Michael Oher, subject of the Academy Award winning film, "The Blindside," shocked his fans after accusing the Tuhoy family of lying about adopting him and instead tricking him into signing conservatorship papers [click here if you missed that].
Now the Tuhoy family is accusing Oher of extortion...
From Variety
An attorney for Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy has issued a response to Michael Oher’s petition against them, which alleged that the couple deceived Oher into making the pair his conservators at age 18 and that he has not shared in the revenue from the feature “The Blind Side,” which drew from his life story.
The Tuohys’ attorney, Marty Singer, distributed a lengthy statement on Tuesday afternoon, alleging that Oher had “threatened” the couple by saying that “he would plant a negative story about them in the press unless they paid him $15 million” and dismissing the petition as “a ludicrous lawsuit” and a “cynical attempt to drum up attention in the middle of his latest book tour.”
“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 $15 million,” Singer writes, characterizing Oher’s alleged contentions as a “shakedown effort.”
The statement also offers an account of the dealmaking process behind adapting Michael Lewis’ 2006 book “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” into the 2009 Oscar-winning feature starring Sandra Bullock and Quinton Aaron. Singer says that the Tuohys “insisted that any money received be divided equally” and “they have made good on that pledge.”
“Over the years, the Tuohys have given Mr. Oher an equal cut of every penny received from ‘The Blind Side,'” Singer continues.
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