In a candid interview with The New York Times Magazine, Michael Oher has shed light on how the film The Blind Side—a 2009 box office sensation starring Sandra Bullock—affected his NFL career and personal life. Oher, who is now embroiled in a legal battle against Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, the couple who took him in as a teenager, claims the film and its source material had a detrimental impact on his professional prospects and public image.
Oher’s lawsuit against the Tuohys alleges that they misled him into signing a conservatorship rather than adopting him, as he was led to believe. A judge recently dissolved the conservatorship, but the legal dispute has highlighted broader concerns about the portrayal of Oher in the film.
According to Oher, the film’s depiction led NFL teams to question his intelligence. “The NFL people were wondering if I could read a playbook,” Oher disclosed in the interview. Although he initially avoided watching the movie, he was eventually persuaded to view it by the Baltimore Ravens’ team chaplain.
Upon viewing the film, Oher described his initial reaction as confused and somewhat detached. However, as social media began to proliferate, he noticed a growing narrative that painted him as unintelligent, linking this perception to the film’s portrayal. “It’s hard to describe my reaction,” Oher said. “It seemed kind of funny to me, like it was a comedy about someone else. But as social media started growing, I saw people calling me dumb. Every article about me mentioned ‘The Blind Side,’ like it was part of my name.” He voiced concern about how this negative portrayal might affect his children’s perception of his intelligence and their own academic struggles.
The lawsuit reveals deeper rifts between Oher and the Tuohys, with Oher accusing the family of exploiting his story for personal gain. In the interview, Oher reflected on his emotional vulnerability when he first heard the words “I love you” from the Tuohys at the age of 18. “When that happens at 18, you become vulnerable. You let your guard down and then you get everything stripped from you. It turns into a hurt feeling,” he explained.
In response to the lawsuit, entertainment lawyer Martin Singer, representing the Tuohys, dismissed Oher’s claims as baseless. “Anyone with a modicum of common sense can see that the outlandish claims made by Michael Oher about the Tuohy family are hurtful and absurd,” Singer stated. “The idea that the Tuohys have ever sought to profit off Mr. Oher is not only offensive, it is transparently ridiculous.”