The Blind Side controversy, explained

Michael Oher, the subject of The Blind Side, says he was never actually adopted. vox.com/culture CULTURE   The Blind Side was an incredibly popular film, and perfectly engineered Oscar bait. It was a feel-good narrative with an inspirational message of family, redemption, and hope, featuring a kind-hearted white woman, Leigh Anne Tuohy, (portrayed by Sandra Bullock, who won an Oscar for the role) saving Michael Oher, a Black teenager growing up in poverty. This basic plot was supposed to be all the more stirring because it was real: The Tuohys adopted Oher into their family, and Oher went on to become a successful NFL player. Except that it wasn’t true. This week, Oher filed a petition claiming that the Tuohys had taken advantage of him, made millions off of his story, and tricked him into a conservatorship. These details are new and upsetting, but as [my colleague Fabiola Cineas explains](, The Blind Side always wore its exploitation on its sleeve. It deployed an age-old white savior narrative that made Oher almost peripheral to his own story, while centering the good deeds and bravery of the white family that “rescued” him. The real truth of The Blind Side is that unfortunately, we’ve heard this one before. —[Whizy Kim](, senior reporter Was The Blind Side’s white savior narrative built on a lie? [photo of Michael Oher in 2016 on the field in Charlotte with the Carolina Panthers football team]( Scott Cunningham/Getty Images The 2009 film The Blind Side tells the story of a white family on a heartfelt mission: to save the life of “Big Mike,” an unhoused Black 17-year-old who attends the local school with their son in Memphis, Tennessee. As many critics would later note, the tale was a classic “white savior” story that served to praise the goodness of white people and erase the nuances of a Black kid’s story of resilience. But audiences at the time heralded The Blind Side, which was based on a book of the same name, as a tearjerker and the blueprint for a feel-good classic. Plus, it was all a true story, based on the real events in the life of Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy and Michael Oher, who went on to play eight seasons in the NFL. The film earned more than $300 million at the box office and was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, while Sandra Bullock took home the Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal of family matriarch Leigh Anne Tuohy. Now, however, Oher, a former NFL player, has alleged that [the crux of the story — that a white family adopted him out of homelessness — is a lie]( and that the family exploited his name and story for years to enrich themselves. Oher says that he believed he was a legal member of the Tuohy family for nearly two decades, only to learn this year that he was not. According to ESPN, Oher filed a 14-page petition in Tennessee’s Shelby County on Monday, alleging that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy never actually adopted him. Instead, the petition alleges, they tricked him into a conservatorship, a legal agreement that gave them legal authority to use his name in business deals, less than three months after he turned 18. The petition claims that the family used Oher, now 37, to make millions of dollars from the popular book and 2009 blockbuster film. [He’s now asking that the probate court end the conservatorship]( and bar the family from using Oher’s name and likeness. The petition also requests that the court seek an accounting of all the money the Tuohys have made since starting the conservatorship in 2004 and to pay Oher his share of the earnings, in addition to damages. [Read the full story »](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( How does Elon Musk get away with it all? The billionaire’s heroic image is built on media praise, breathless fans, and … romance novel tropes. [Read the full story »]( “Girl” trends and the repackaging of womanhood Online, women eat “girl dinners” and go on “hot girl walks.” Welcome to the girlouboros. [Read the full story »](   Support our work We aim to explain what we buy, why we buy it, and why it matters. Support our mission by making a gift today. [Give](   More good stuff to read today - [How two pop culture Twitter accounts turned into the internet’s wire service]( - [Why in the world are Elon and Zuck planning to punch each other?]( - [Publishing scammers are using AI to scale their grifts]( - [The Montgomery boat brawl and what it really means to “try that in a small town”]( - [How to (actually) talk to kids](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=culture). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Policy]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved.