'The Blind Side' Producers Defend Film Amid Michael Oher Lawsuit

The producers of "The Blind Side" have defended their film from criticism that arose after Michael Oher, the inspiration for the 2009 Oscar-winning movie, filed a lawsuit against the Tuohy family.

The former NFL player filed legal documents earlier this month claiming that Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, portrayed in the movie by Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, did not complete a legal adoption of him. Instead, Oher said, he unknowingly granted authority to the couple to become his conservators in 2004, when he was 18 years old.

"Michael trusted the Tuohys and signed where they told him to sign," the legal filing states, according to People. "What he signed, however, and unknown to Michael until after February, 2023, were not adoption papers, or the equivalent of adoption papers."

Oher further alleged that Sean Tuohy, his wife Leigh Anne Tuohy, and their two children made millions from the movie.

The Tuohy family has denied the allegations but producers Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove said in a statement that this has not stopped the public from "unfairly" picking the movie apart 14 years later with some "going so far as to call it 'fake' or a 'lie.'"

"'The Blind Side' is verifiably authentic and will never be a lie or fake, regardless of the familial ups and downs that have occurred subsequent to the film," wrote Johnson and Kosove, who are the co-founders and co-CEOs of Alcon Entertainment, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "We are as proud of the film today as we were when our amazing collaborators made the movie 14 years ago."

Johnson and Kosove went on to respond to Oher's statements about the movie's earnings and the "many mischaracterizations and uninformed opinions" circulating.

"The deal that was made by Fox for the Tuohys’ and Michael Oher’s life rights was consistent with the marketplace at that time for the rights of relatively unknown individuals," they said. "Therefore, it did not include significant payouts in the event of the film’s success. As a result, the notion that the Tuohys were paid millions of dollars by Alcon to the detriment of Michael Oher is false. In fact, Alcon has paid approximately $767,000 to the talent agency that represents the Tuohy family and Michael Oher (who, presumably, took commission before passing it through)."

Johnson and Kosove further pointed out that "no major studio" was interested in making the movie when Alcon financed it in 2009.

"The prevailing 'wisdom' was that a football movie starring a woman would not appeal to football fans, it had too much football to appeal to families, and that movies starring Black actors don’t work overseas," they said. "Our opinion was that it would appeal to everyone, and, in 2009, when this country, and the world more broadly, was more hopeful and less divided — it did."