There has been a ton of controversy surrounding the Tuohy family in recent days after it was reported that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy never legally adopted Michael Oher and that he never received any money for the uber-popular movie The Blind Side.
The author of The Blind Side book, Michael Lewis, recently reacted to the situation, saying that Hollywood is the real culprit here.
Lewis detailed in an interview with The Washington Post that despite the huge success the movie saw, no one outside the Hollywood studio system saw millions of dollars from the hit movie.
“Everybody should be mad at the Hollywood studio system,” said Lewis. “Michael Oher should join the writers’ strike. It’s outrageous how Hollywood accounting works, but the money is not in the Tuohys’ pockets.”
Oher now claims that the Tuohy family used their conservatorship over him to deny him profits from the film. Lewis paints an entirely different picture. The Moneyball author added that he and the Tuohy family earned roughly $350,000 each after splitting profits 50/50. With that money, the family planned to give Oher his share, according to Lewis, but the football player turned down his royalty checks.
Lewis further defended the Tuohy family, saying that they showered Oher with “resources and love.”
“What I feel really sad about is I watched the whole thing up close,” Lewis added. “They showered him with resources and love. That he’s suspicious of them is breathtaking. The state of mind one has to be in to do that. I feel sad for him.”
It is certainly worth noting that Lewis originally wrote the book on account of hearing the story directly from Sean Tuohy, whom he was childhood friends with. His seemingly close relationship with Sean Tuohy could potentially make him a biased party in this situation.
That being said, if Lewis is telling the truth, it may be premature to paint the Tuohy family as haven taken advantage of Oher as it is being claimed. Perhaps more details will be released soon to clarify the situation further.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.