Michael Oher Requests Tuohys Stop Using His Name and Claiming They ‘Adopted’ Him, Per Court Documents
Oher claims the Tuohys continue to “perpetuate false claims that they adopted him” including listing him as their 'adopted son' on their website, per the filing
Michael Oher is requesting Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy stop calling themselves his adoptive parents now that their conservatorship over him has been terminated.
The retired NFL star, whose life inspired the Oscar-nominated film The Blind Side, has filed a motion to prevent the couple from commercially using his name, image and likeness alongside claims that they “adopted” him or are his “adoptive parents,” according to a filing obtained by PEOPLE.
Oher previously claimed in a petition to terminate his conservatorship filed in August that the Tuohys lied about adopting him and instead tricked him into making them his conservators when he was 18. He alleged they told him there was no consequential difference between being adopted and entering into a conservatorship.
In the court documents filed on Nov. 14 in the probate court of Shelby County, Tenn., Oher claimed that the Tuohys are continuing to “perpetuate false claims that they adopted him” including listing Oher as their "adopted son" on their website and continuing to “book events” as Oher’s adoptive parents “without his consent.”
Related: Judge Says She's Terminating Michael Oher’s Conservatorship with Tuohy Family
The filing cited, in particular, an event at Eastern Florida State College in which Leigh Anne was scheduled to be one of the guest speakers and her description on the website noted that she was “the adoptive mother of NFL football star Oher.” The document also noted the Tuohys' claims in a prior filing that there was "never an intent to adopt" the former NFL player.
“The Former Co-Conservators have used this [name, image and likeness] property of their former ward, weaving it with a false narrative (that they are the adoptive parents of Mr. Oher) to create a commercial enterprise of public speaking and internet sales which have made them millions of dollars… while demeaning and defaming Mr. Oher at the same time,” the filing states.
The court documents pointed out an example of this, claiming that Oher’s portrayal as being “slow,” “unintelligent” and “developmentally challenged” in the film The Blind Side were “false” and that these “perceptions” have “haunted” him for decades and negatively impacted his career and public perception.
Related: Michael Oher Was Paid $138,000 for The Blind Side, According to Tuohys' Newly Filed Court Documents
The filing went on to claim that Oher would “suffer immediate and irreparable injury” from the Tuohy’s use of his name, image and likeness if they aren’t prevented from continuing to do so.
PEOPLE has contacted the representatives for the Tuohy family for comment.
This comes a week after Leigh Anne and Sean filed financial records in response to Oher’s claims that the couple as well as their two children — “collectively received millions of dollars and Michael received nothing for his rights” to the film.
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The pair filed court documents showing that the 37-year-old former NFL player was paid $138,311.01 by them in ten installments over a period of 16 years beginning in 2007 with the final payment of $8,480,10 being given out on April 17, 2023.
Oher signed the conservatorship agreement in 2004 when he was 18 years old that granted the Tuohy’s control of his finances. At the time, he was living with the family and playing high school football. In September, Oher’s petition to terminate his conservatorship with the couple was granted.
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