'Below Deck' Episode Featuring Tuohys Talking 'Blind Side' Deal Resurfaces
Sean Tuohy and Leigh Anne Tuohy‘s memorable appearance on Below Deck has resurfaced amid their legal drama with Michael Oher.
In a season 6 episode, which originally aired in 2017 and has since been reshared by TikTok user @itsabigailadams, Sean, 63, discussed his involvement in The Blind Side movie.
“The writer of the book, he and I went to school together since we were five years old,” Sean explained about author Michael Lewis. “So I get a call — Steven Spielberg, Harvey Weinstein — I had to give them the rights to use our name, and I said, ‘I’ll give you the rights if I get to read the script and approve it or un-approve it.’ So, sure enough, seven months later we get an envelope in the mail.”
Sean and Leigh Anne, 63, mentioned their connection to the film multiple times while on board the yacht. The pair took in Oher, now 37, as a teenager before he played four seasons at Ole Miss and several years in the NFL. The Blind Side movie starred Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne, Tim McGraw as Sean and Quinton Aaron as Oher.
Below Deck's Biggest Drama Through the Years
Earlier this week, Oher filed a 14-page petition against the Tuohys, claiming they never adopted him and kept him from the profits of the 2009 movie.
In legal documents obtained by Us Weekly on Monday, August 14, Oher alleged that the family convinced him to sign a document in 2004 and “consented on the basis that doing so would make him a member” but that did not provide him with a “familial relationship” over the years. Oher is now seeking to terminate the conservatorship and asking the court to prohibit the Tuohys from using his name and likeness.
The Blind Side's Michael Oher and the Tuohy Family: Where Are They Now?
“I am disheartened by the revelation shared in the lawsuit today. This is a difficult situation for my family and me,” the athlete said in a statement to the New York Post on Monday. “I want to ask everyone to please respect our privacy at this time. For now, I will let the lawsuit speak for itself and will offer no further comment.”
Sean and Leigh Anne, for their part, issued a statement accusing Oher of trying to extort them.
What Michael Oher Had Said About the Tuohy Family Before Lawsuit
“When Michael Lewis, a friend of Sean’s since childhood, was approached about turning his book on Mr. Oher and the Tuohys into a movie about their family, his agents negotiated a deal where they received a small advance from the production company and a tiny percentage of net profits,” their lawyer Marty Singer told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, August 15. “They insisted that any money received be divided equally. And they have made good on that pledge.”
The statement continued: “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.”
