Michael Oher Speaks Out for the First Time Since Filing Lawsuit Against Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy

Mar. 15, 2025

Michael Oher, the former football star whose life inspiredThe Blind Side, is speaking out for the first time since filing a lawsuit againstSean and Leigh Anne Tuohythat resulted in thetermination of his conservatorshipand alleged that the family exploited his likeness to make millions.

In a new interview withThe New York Times Magazinepublished on Sunday, Aug. 18, over a year afterhe first filed the suit, the NFL alum recalled his time living with the wealthy, Memphis-based family — and why, despite what the 2009 film portrays, he feels like they deceived him.

“The first time I heard ‘I love you,’ it was Sean and Leigh Anne [Tuohy] saying it. When that happens at 18, you become vulnerable,” he told the magazine. “You let your guard down and then you get everything stripped from you. It turns into a hurt feeling.”

After a brief pause, he continued, “I don’t want to make this about race, but what I found out was that nobody says ‘I love you’ more than coaches and white people. When Black people say it, they mean it.”

Michael Oher in 2016.Scott Cunningham/Getty

Scott Cunningham/Getty

Oher, now 38, still expressed fond feelings about the comfort and care Sean and Leigh Ann provided him. “Honestly, it was great,” he said of his time with the family, who bought him clothes and set him up with a tutor — to make him eligible to play college football — among other things.

“I had a bed to stay on. I was eating good. They got me a truck,” he added of his time with Sean, Leigh Anne and their two kids.

Matthew Sharpe/Getty

However,The Blind Side, Oher said, gave him an entirely new — and very public — identity that did not accurately reflect who he was as an athlete or person.

Reflecting on the release ofThe Blind Side, which coincided with the beginning of his NFL career, Oher toldThe New York Times Magazine, “That’s my heartbreak right there. … It was as soon as I got there, I was defined.”

The Tuohy family with Michael Oher (middle).Leigh Anne Tuohy/ Instagram

Leigh Anne Tuohy/ Instagram

Oher did not attend the film’s premiere, but was persuaded to watch it about a month after its release. “It’s hard to describe my reaction. It seemed kind of funny to me, to tell you the truth, like it was a comedy about someone else,” he told the magazine. “It didn’t register.”

The biggest difference between the movie’s character and the real-life Oher, according to the athlete? It underplayed his intelligence to such a degree that it left his new coworkers questioning his capabilities. “The NFL people were wondering if I could read a playbook,” he said.

Recalling how social media “was just starting to grow” at the time of the film’s release, Oher added, “I started seeing stuff that I’m dumb. I’m stupid. Every article about me mentioned ‘The Blind Side,’ like it was part of my name.”

The former football tackle still worries about this portrayal impacting him — as well as his children: “If my kids can’t do something in class, will their teacher think, ‘Their dad is dumb — is that why they’re not getting it?’ " he said.

The Tuohy family at ‘The Blind Side’ premiere in 2009.Stephen Lovekin/Getty

Stephen Lovekin/Getty

Elsewhere in his chat withThe New York Times Magazine— which the Tuohy family refused to comment on — Oher also claimed that his lawsuit against them was not about money, although he alleged in the Aug. 14 filing that Sean, Leigh Anne and their two children “collectively received millions of dollars and Michael received nothing for his rights” toThe Blind Side.

“I worked hard for that moment when I was done playing, and saved my money so I could enjoy the time,” he told the magazine, adding that he is “fine” and currently has “millions of dollars.”

As for why he waited until last August to file, Oher said that he had other things on his mind. “Pro football’s a hard job. You have to be locked in 100 percent,” he explained. “I went along with their narrative because I really had to focus on my NFL career, not things off the field.”

For a long time, Oher said he was also “so angry mentally” with the situation he was “going through,” he told the magazine. Now, he just wants to find himself again.

“I want to be the person I was beforeThe Blind Side, personality-wise,” he said. “I’m still working on it.”

Michael Oher in 2023.Shutterstock

Shutterstock

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At the time, Gomes said that she had never seen a conservatorship agreement reached with someone who was not disabled in her 43-year career.

The rest of the lawsuit, meanwhile, is still ongoing.

source: people.com