"The Blind Side's" Michael Oher Gets Blindsided! And It Wasn't By Sandra Bullock! UPDATED: The Tuohys' Lawyer Responds!

Remember the 2009 movie "The Blind Side?" You know, the one with the poster featuring an Ozempic-using mom with legs like carrot sticks who adopted a Jolly Green Giant, but in Black. Yes, that one! It was a true story, we were told, and made many a moviegoer reach for their eyehole-dripping hankies. It also earned Sandra Bullock a Best Actress Oscar for a performance which I will charitably call monotone. Or flat? Lifeless? AnywaytheOscarsJustWantedToGiveSandySomeGold, the white-savior classique of the screen has long since faded from memory (or at least mine). But not for Michael Oher, the real-life, adopted Black youth who went on to become a successful pro football player. Only don't say "adopted."

Why can't you say adopted? Oh, my chickens, pull up a seat. As initially reported in yesterday's Nightcap, Michael only recently found out that Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, the nicey-nice, good Christian white couple who took him in and adopted him, didn't actually adopt him. The papers they had him sign as a teenager were conservator papers, making him their ward. This, they told Michael, was a necessary "first step" toward getting adopted (it's not) (they lied) (allegedly). 

The papers also pointedly cut Michael out of any monies later earned by the couple about their generous and loving "adoption" of him, from both their best-selling non-fiction book (as told to author Michael Lewis), and from the Oscar-winning, 300 million dollar-earning movie which followed. All of this netted the Tuohy's and their biological children a nice wad of cheddar. Let that sink in for a moment. Everyone in the Tuohy family got a cut. Michael got zilch. He didn't even get the rights to his own name, much less his own life story.

Now, I don't mean to insinuate that the Tuohys saw a cash cow in the making when they spotted Michael excelling beyond the norm as a football player at a local Christian high school. I'm not saying that they swiftly "adopted" him, or conned him into believing they did - he was a ward of the State of Tennessee at the time - or that they later arranged for him to be admitted to Sean's college alma mater, then gleefully cashed in with a book and movie deal. I'm not saying that at all! But if shit smells like shit, maybe it ain't petunias. Leigh Anne and Sean legally owned Michael's ass, his name, and his story. There's no need to add "allegedly" to any of that. At present, he's taking them to court. 

No word yet from Aunt Sandy, who's dealing with her own heartbreak at the moment. But Leigh Anne and Sean have cried foul. Gosh darn it, they're truly "devastated" by Michael's lawsuit, they told "The Daily Memphian" on Monday, and further claim that Michael simply "had to" sign a conservatorship in order to play ball at Sean's alma mater. "Scooby - wha?" you say. Alright, let's go with that. But does this also mean that Sean and Leigh Anne "had to" own his name, likeness and life story, too? Such confusion!

In any case, despite the lawsuit, Sean charitably added, "We are going to keep loving Michael!" Moreover, he said he's perfectly "willing" to end the conservatorship - which is incredibly still ongoing - and claims, "The allegations are insulting. We didn't make any money off that movie!" This is in direct contrast to their son, Sean Jr., who said in an interview with "Barstool Sports" that he's earned an easy "60 to 70 grand" from the movie in just the last few years. Their son. Who did nothing. While Michael got squat. Again, let that sink in for a moment. 

It's worth noting that in Tennessee, a conservatorship is defined as "removing decision making powers" from a person with "diminished capacity." Michael's disabilities were apparently that he was a teenager, naive, ostensibly homeless, and Black. At the time "The Blind Side" came out in movie theatres, Michael was not exactly pleased, since both the book and the movie made him out to look like a hulking, monosyllabic stupido, something that did not help his personal life or career. Still, Michael earned millions as an NFL player - earnings which far outstrip what the Tuohys earned off his back - so for him, this isn't about money. It's about the truth - and forcing the Tuohy's to admit it. Gosh, after all this, the Tuohy's must feel (you know it's coming) blindsided!

UPDATE: Whether they were blindsided or not, the Tuohys have hired lawyer Marty Singer - one of the priciest and most ruthless in Hollywood - who's just stated that Michael attempted to "shakedown" the Tuohys for cash before he filed his lawsuit, though arguably, one person's "shakedown" could be another person's attempt to resolve the many issues behind closed doors before filing a lawsuit. Singer added that, "Should (Michael) wish to terminate the conservatorship, either now or any time in the future, the Tuohys will never oppose it in any way. The Tuohys will always care deeply for Mr. Oher!"

Stay tuned, 'cause this is about to get all kinds of ugly. Why? Because Singer - whose clients include alleged pedophile director, Bryan Singer, as well as Chris Brown and Bill Cosby - is known to be epically vicious. 

Photo Credits: AP, Getty Images, The Daily Memphian