Michael Lewis, the author of “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” which chronicled the upbringing of NFL lineman Michael Oher, said the Super Bowl champion’s lawsuit against the family who took the player in was “shocking” to him.
Lewis talked again about Oher’s lawsuit against Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy and the player’s fight to end the conservatorship and recoup money he alleged he is owed from the movie.
“Michael Oher accused the Tuohys of stealing his movie money. It’s shocking to me that he did that, because I know it’s not true,” Lewis said in an interview with GQ Magazine published Thursday. “And it’s heartbreaking because I did move into Michael’s life. I spent lots of time with him, and he felt loved and he loved them. And I don’t know what happened.
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“These aren’t novels. The people continue to live. And so that’s the story I wrote, and it feels like it’s embalmed and bottled and captured in time. It’s what happened. And Michael Oher was really happy with it. He didn’t like the movie, but the movie is different than the book.”
Lewis said he did not have any problem with Oher being upset with how he was portrayed in the film, which garnered a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars and Sandra Bullock a Best Actress award for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy.
“I have a problem with him accusing people of stealing money from him when all they did was give him money,” Lewis said. “He’s really upended these people’s lives who really never did anything but mean him well and love him and take care of him. And I just felt like they needed defending because nobody else was doing it.”
Lewis added that remarks about whether Oher is suffering from a brain injury is something he “probably shouldn’t have said.”
A rep for Oher did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
In Tennessee last month, Shelby County Probate Court Judge Kathleen Gomes said she was terminating the conservatorship between Oher and the Tuohys. A conservatorship in Tennessee is often used when there is a medical condition or disability, per The Associated Press. Gomes said she has never seen a conservatorship agreement reached with someone who is not disabled.
While Gomes is ending the conservatorship agreement, the judge is not dismissing the case.
In August, Oher alleged in a petition filed in a Tennessee court that he was never legally adopted by the Tuohy family, but rather tricked into a conservatorship that solely benefited the family.
“The lie of Michael’s adoption is one upon which Co-Conservators Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy have enriched themselves at the expense of their Ward, the undersigned Michael Oher,” the document read.
“Michael Oher discovered this lie to his chagrin and embarrassment in February of 2023, when he learned that the Conservatorship to which he consented on the basis that doing so would make him a member of the Tuohy family, in fact provided him no familial relationship with the Tuohys.”
The Tuohy family invited Oher to live with them in 2004. The filing alleges that soon after moving in, the family presented him with the conservatorship, which he understood as a form of legal adoption.
Oher’s petition sought to end the conservatorship and bar them from using his name and likeness. It also sought to have Oher receive a share of profits based on the earnings the family purportedly made off his name.
The petition also alleged that while the Tuohys benefited significantly from “The Blind Side,” Oher did not.
In September, Tuohys’ lawyers denied in court documents that they used a legal agreement between them and Oher to get rich at his expense and lied about intending to adopt him.
MICHAEL OHER SAYS ‘THE BLIND SIDE’ DIDN’T PORTRAY WORK ETHIC PRIOR TO JOINING TUOHY FAMILY
The family said they loved Oher like a son and provided him with food, shelter, clothing and cars while he lived with them. They denied saying they intended to legally adopt him.
The Tuohys’ filing said Oher did refer to Sean and Leigh Anne as “mom” and “dad” while they referred to Oher as their son. They also acknowledged that other websites showed them referring to Oher as an adoptive son, but said the term was used “in the colloquial sense and they have never intended that reference to be viewed with legal implication.”
The family said the conservatorship was the tool chosen to comply with NCAA rules that would have kept Oher from attending Ole Miss, the university where Sean Tuohy played basketball. The filing said the NCAA “made it clear that he could attend Ole Miss if he was part of the Tuohy family in some fashion.”
The Tuohys added that Oher lied about finding out that he was not adopted in February and pointed to the former NFL player’s 2011 book “I Beat the Odds,” which indicated he was aware the Tuohys were appointed as conservators rather than adoptive parents.
Oher was selected with the 23rd pick of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, where he played his first five NFL seasons. Oher went on to play for two more teams in his eight-year career.
Fox News’ Joe Morgan contributed to this report.
