An episode of Below Deck that featured the Tuohy family – AKA the fam that inspired Oscar-winning flick The Blind Side – has resurfaced, with fans pointing out some fishy dialogue during a discussion about how the movie was made.
Earlier this week, former NFL player Michael Oher filed a petition in court against Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, alleging they lied about adopting him and tricked him into a conservatorship.
The bombshell has really – and no pun intended – blindsided fans as the movie depicted the Tuohys as a loving and caring family.
In case you never watched The Blind Side, the movie follows the story of Michael, a homeless teen with incredible football skills. Michael is taken in by the Tuohys, who are white and wealthy. The movie eventually builds up to the family adopting Michael and treating him like one of their own. The film really encompasses the themes of belonging, racism, and acceptance.
Sean and Leigh Anne appeared in a 2017 episode of Below Deck, and since the petition was filed, a particular dinner scene featuring the pair has been labelled as a “red flag” by TikToker and journalist Abigal Adams.
In the scene that Abigal reposted, Sean mentioned how he was able to have final approval of The Blind Side script.
“The writer of the book, he and I went to school together since we were five years old,” Sean began.
“So I get a call from Steven Spielberg, Harvey Weinstein – I had to give them the rights to use our name. And I said I’ll give you the rights to use our names if I get to read the script and approve it or un-approve it.
“And so, seven months later, we get an envelope in the mail, and it’s a script of the movie.”
Abigal also questioned how Sean and Leigh Anne were able to go yachting while Michael was “allegedly fighting for his rights back”.
“And they’re allegedly making money off of his story while he’s making none,” Abigail said.
The reality TV journalist closed the TikTok, which now has more than 487.8K views, saying, “just some food for thought.”
All in all, it’s quite a sad turn of events for a film that brought the warm and fuzzies for so many people. The only good thing amongst this mess is that it gives me another reason to re-watch an episode of Below Deck.
