Lawyers have alleged that Michael Oher has been estranged from the Tuohy family for a decade.
This comes after the former NFL star launched a lawsuit against his legal guardians, claiming that the family made millions off him through his story being told in the 2009 film, The Blind Side.
As the bitter legal battle begins, the Tuohy family held a press conference during which their lawyers made the shocking revelation. Take a listen:
Advert
Oher was the inspiration for the 2009 film, The Blind Side, with the sports movie going on to score more than $300 million at the box office.
Based on the 2006 book of the same name, the movie centres on the adoption of Oher (Quinton Aaron) by a wealthy white family, the Tuohys, with the homeless teen then going on to embark upon NFL glory.
Despite this, it’s been revealed that the family never actually adopted the former Baltimore Ravens player – instead, they became his legal guardians via a conservatorship.
Eager to sever his ties with the Tuohys, Oher has now launched a lawsuit against his legal guardians, with the suit claiming that the conservatorship was 'concocted by the family to enrich themselves at his expense'.
In response, the family held a press conference about the lawsuit in Memphis and hit back at the allegations.
During this, their attorneys Randall Fishman and Steven Farese revealed that Oher had been estranged from the Tuohys for over a decade.
"He's been estranged probably since for the last 10 years," Farese told the press, adding: "And becoming more and more vocal and more and more threatening."
The legal representatives also hit back at allegations about the family profiting Oher, who was only 18 when he entered the conservatorship - which is now coming to an end 19 years on.
Though The Blind Side would eventually win Sandra Bullock an Oscar, the attorneys claimed that the family didn’t earn much from their on-screen portrayal.
"Well, each member of the family has received the same amount of money," Fishman explained. "So, imagine a pie divided by five, OK? We estimate each person received $100,000."
In a separate statement, given to ET, he denied that the Tuohys had controlled Oher’s NFL deals – despite being his legal guardians.
"He's negotiated his own contract with the NFL. He's hired and fired his agents," Fishman told the outlet. "The Tuohys have never had to sign off on any of that. He's done that all himself."
However, the family have since announced that they will end their conservatorship of the footballer – which has lasted for over 19 years.
UNILAD have reached out to the Tuohys and Michael Oher for comment.
Topics: Michael Oher, Celebrity, Film and TV, The Blind Side
Katherine Sidnell