‘The Blind Side’ co-star Quinton Aaron defends Sandra Bullock over calls for her to give back Oscar after Michael Oher’s lawsuit
In 2010, Sandra Bullock won the Academy Award for best actress for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy in the film “The Blind Side.”
The movie was inspired by the real-life story of a Tennessee family that took in and adopted Michael Oher, who would later have a career in the National Football League (NFL).
Over the past week, the illusion of “The Blind Side” has been shattered after Oher accused the Tuohy family of never actually adopting him and forcing him into a conservatorship for their monetary benefit.
The Tuohy’s say Oher previously tried to shake them down for $15 million.
Given the movie’s resurgence in the news, some people have questioned if Bullock’s Oscar should be revoked, a notion that Quinton Aaron, who portrayed Oher in the movie, disagrees with.
“There’s a lot of hate being spread around nowadays. And there’s you know, someone asked me, there’s people saying things that, ‘Oh maybe you should strip Sandra of her title…her Oscar.’ I’m like, ‘For what?’” Aaron told Fox News Digital.
“There’s nothing that says she had anything to do with this. She was an actress who got hired to do a job, and she did it so well that she was rewarded for it. Why would you take that reward just because of what’s going on today, 14 years later?”
“I wish they would just leave her alone because, you know, she’s going through her own things right now, you know with the love she just lost. You know, she suffered a great loss,” Aaron said, referencing the recent death of Bullock’s longtime partner, Bryan Randall.
On Aug. 5, Randall passed away at the age of 57 after a three-year battle with ALS, his family said in a statement.
“I’m far too familiar with the tragedy of losing a loved one, and it’s no easy feat. … My thoughts and prayers go out to her as well,” Aaron continued. “And the last thing she needs is for the Internet trolls to be coming at her talking about something, ‘We should take her Oscar.’ Like just — go sit down. Go. Stay home, sit down, get a job. You know what I mean? Just stop, leave her alone.”
What we know about Michael Oher’s lawsuit against the Tuohy family
Former NFL player Michael Oher, the subject of the hit movie “The Blind Side,” claims Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy never officially adopted him.
According to court papers, the Tuohys tricked Oher into signing over the legal authority to use his name in business deals after he turned 18.
The 37-year-old alleged the Tuohys used their conservatorship to make millions in royalties from the 2009 Oscar-nominated film.
“The lie of Michael’s adoption is one upon which Co-Conservators Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy have enriched themselves at the expense of their Ward [Oher],” the legal filing said.
Sean Tuohy spoke out against the claims, saying the conservatorship was made to ensure that Oher was eligible to play football at the University of Mississippi.
Oher wants to end the Tuohys’ conservatorship and secure an injunction barring them from using his name and likeness.
He also wants an accounting of the money they’ve already earned off his name, a fair share of the profits, and punitive damages.
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“I’m a teddy bear, I like to think of myself as a teddy bear, but if you mess with the people I love, I will become a grizzly bear, just saying.”
Aaron, whose new single “Lead With Love” is out now, says that his bond with Bullock runs deep.
“I loved her, her attitude about everything. You know, she was so welcoming. … She was professional, but funny. Like, she’s hilarious. People don’t know… she’s hilarious. Like the jokes we had, and games we played — she created – on set for us actors to do amongst each other. And then some of the advice, the word’s of wisdom she’s given me… that I took to heart. … She’s definitely played a big part and had a huge impact on my life,” he said of the actress.
“I think we’ll have that kind of connection for the rest of our lives with one another, because I hold her in my heart as…a real special friend.”
“A few months before I got the call to do the part, I lost my mom. And so it was a very dark and cold Christmas in New York,” the Bronx native shared with Fox News Digital.
He and his brother lived in the same apartment where their mother passed, and Aaron says he “couldn’t get a job all winter, had no lights, no money for food, was going back and forth to court trying to keep the place over our head. And the day that I got the eviction call from the sheriff’s department I hung up. It [rang] again, and I answered it. It was the production company telling me they wanted me to be in ‘The Blind Side.’”
“And so I literally went from being told that I’m getting evicted in 72 hours to being told that I’m being flown, my brother and I are being flown, to Atlanta to do this movie that changed our lives. … Everyone that was involved with [‘The Blind Side’] holds a very near and dear place in my heart, and they will for the rest of my life. The Tuohys, Michael Oher. [Whether] we spent 10, 20 years together or two months or days together, I love them because of what that story did for so many people and for me personally.”
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