The legal saga over the film The Blind Side is the subject of the new CNN documentary Blindsided.
Now streaming on the Max platform, the special explores former NFL star Michael Oher’s allegations against Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy — the couple he says pretended to adopt him and secretly placed him in a conservatorship.
“Blindsided examines the claims the Tuohy family have made about adopting Oher for over a decade, casting scrutiny on the conservatorship they put in place which has now been terminated by a judge,” according to a press release from CNN FlashDocs.
Oher, 37, filed a lawsuit in Tennessee in August, revealing the Tuohys placed him in a conservatorship in 2004, when he was 18. He alleged the couple tricked him out of proceeds from The Blind Side, and asked that the conservatorship be terminated — which a judge granted in September.
Related Story: ‘The Blind Side’ Subject Claims in Lawsuit He Was Tricked Out of Millions
The film told the supposed story of how Oher went from homelessness to an All-American football player and NFL draft pick after the Tuohy family took him in when he was a teenager.
Released in 2009, the Oscar-winning movie starred Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne, Tim McGraw portrayed Sean, and Quinton Aaron played Oher.
In his court filing, Oher alleged the Tuohy’s withheld millions of dollars in royalties from The Blind Side after “falsely” claiming to adopt him and securing rights to handle his business dealings.
He asked the couple to pay him his “fair share of profits” from the movie in his court filing.
The film made $309 million at the worldwide box office. Oher’s petition said Leigh Anne, Sean and their two birth children each received $225,000 — plus 2.5 percent of the film’s “net proceeds.” But Oher claimed he didn’t receive any money from the film.
The Tuohys filed a counter claim and “vehemently” denied Oher’s claim that he wasn’t paid for the film. The filing said he received 20 percent of the profits, the same amount as Sean, Leigh Anne and their two children.
Oher’s legal battle with the Tuohys continues. In a sworn document filed on Nov. 8, the couple said they paid Oher more than $138,000 in profits from the film. He is expected to file a response to the claim sometime this month.
Watch the trailer for the documentary below:
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