Michael Oher’s long-time friends take aim at The Blind Side, calling the film ‘inaccurate’ and ‘hurtful’: ‘That video is depicting something that didn’t occur’

Longtime friends and confidantes of Michael Oher are taking aim at the award-winning film The Blind Side and other portrayals of the former NFL player that they say are misleading.

The film and the 2006 bestseller on which it is based tell the story of a young Oher who moves from a foster home to the home of a wealthy, white Memphis couple, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, who helps him graduate before he accompanies him to university. N.F.L.

Nate and Quwanda Hale, two of Oher’s foster brothers, told CNN this week that parts of the movie are simply not true, including a scene where the rising offensive lineman told Leigh Anne that he never had his own bed.

“That video shows something that did not happen,” the Hales told CNN, explaining that every child in foster care “should have their own space.”

Oher is in the middle of an ongoing lawsuit against Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, alleging that the couple in ‘The Blind Side’ were misrepresented as his adoptive parents and that they tricked him into signing a conservatorship agreement, allowing them to taking advantage. from his story.

The Tuohys have denied lying to Oher.

A Tennessee judge ended that conservatorship in September, saying she was disturbed that such an agreement had ever been reached because Oher was 18 when it was signed in 2004 and did not have a disability that could make the pact necessary.

While the book and film portray the Tuohys as Oher’s saviors, Oher’s friend and teammate Quinterio Franklin insists that they only took in young Michael because their home was conveniently located near the school and Sean was a volunteer coach for the team .

“I’m ashamed of him as a friend – (the film is) not accurate and it’s hurtful,” Franklin told CNN.

Franklin claims he was so upset that he walked out of the theater when he tried to watch the film in 2009.

Nate Hale also took issue with Oher’s portrayal as a disaffected teenager, saying he was a resilient young man determined to reach the NFL.

“Michael pretty much understood the concept that everyone else understood – this is not the end of your life – let this be a step toward the beginning of a new life,” Nate said.

Oher has also taken issue with his portrayal in the 2009 film.

“I had this ability to want to succeed and be something, and it wasn’t a testament to the work ethic I put in to get to that point.” Oher told Salon in a recent interview.

Oher claims the conservatorship denied him film rights, but court documents filed Wednesday allege he received $138,311.01 in 16 installments spread over 16 years.

His legal filing in August alleged that he received nothing from the film and that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy “collectively received millions of dollars” while misrepresenting their curatorship.

Oher’s attorney has been contacted for comment.

The film itself grossed over $300 million upon its release in 2009.