The producers of the 2009 hit film ‘The Blind Side,’ are speaking out against Michael Oher’s claims that the Tuohys allegedly made millions off his story with the film that grossed $330 million.
As we reported, Michael Oher alleged the Tuohy family fabricated the whole story about him being adopted and that he was living a lie where they profited from his story without giving him a penny.
In a statement to People, The Alcon Entertainment co-founders and co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove revealed that Oher, 37, and the members of the Tuohy family were paid around $767,000 in payments to their talent agency for The Blind Side, not millions. They added that the payment “was consistent with the marketplace at that time for the rights of relatively unknown individuals. Therefore, it did not include significant payouts in the event of the film’s success.”
The producers deny that they paid any millions to anybody.
“As a result, the notion that the Tuohys were paid millions of dollars by Alcon to the detriment of Michael Oher is false,” they said.
“We anticipate that the Tuohy family and Michael Oher will receive additional profits as audiences continue to enjoy this true story in the years to come,” they added. “In addition to these contractual payments, Alcon made a charitable contribution to the Tuohy family foundation. We offered to donate an equal amount to a charity of Mr. Oher’s choosing, which he declined.”
Kosove and Johnson’s also backed the story of the film and that ut was unfair to question its authenticity 14 years later.
“We are as proud of the film today as we were when our amazing collaborators made the movie 14 years ago,” they said. “We hope our fellow filmmakers all over the world will continue to look for uplifting stories to tell, and have the freedom and empowerment to have their voices heard.”
Oher, a former NFL player, filed a lawsuit against Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, alleging that they never adopted him, but instead, tricked him into a conservatorship to make themselves more wealthy off of his talents and likeness.
In the court documents, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy are accused of taking Oher into their home as a high school student under a conservatorship that he was tricked into. Per ESPN, the conservatorship granted the family legal authority to make business deals on his behalf.
RELATED: Michael Oher Speaks Out Revealing He Was Never Adopted & Tricked Into A Conservatorship
Now at 37 years of age, Oher is reportedly requesting that a court end the Tuohy family’s conservatorship, ceasing them from further using his name and likeness. He is also reportedly asking for them to provide a full account of their earnings since the beginning of the conservatorship. He is seeking an unspecified amount of damages.