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One TikToker has gone viral after digging up a clip from Below Deck starring Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy a day after their adoptive son, Michael Oher filed legal action against them.
The Tuohys and Oher became well known after a 2009 film called The Blind Side starring Sandra Bullock, told the story of how the family took him in as a teenager and helped him realize his potential to reach the NFL.
The feel-good film was based on the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, but on Monday Oher filed a lawsuit against the Tuohys in Tennessee claiming they never actually adopted him and tricked him into signing a document that made them his conservators. He alleged they have profited off his story and career through the conservatorship.
Oher, now 37, claimed he was falsely told that there wasn't a real difference between an adoption and a conservatorship. The petition argues that he actually surrendered control of his financial affairs to the couple.
The lawsuit and subsequent interest in the story led Abigail Adams, a content creator and reporter at People magazine to remember when the Tuohys appeared in 2017 on the reality TV show Below Deck, which follows the lives of crews working on luxury yachts.
She shared a clip from the episode to TikTok on Monday in which Sean Tuohy discusses how he negotiated with former movie producer Harvey Weinstein about giving him the rights to their story.
@itsabigailadams its been on my mind ALL DAY #belowdeck #belowdeckbravo #bravo #theblindside #greenscreen
♬ original sound - Abigail Adams
Adams said that how Sean spoke about the film and Oher while on Below Deck was a "red flag."
"So with the whole The Blind Side drama going on right now. Am I the only person that can't stop thinking about this episode from Below Deck, as if the movie wasn't a red flag already, this was an even bigger one, in my opinion, naturally?" Adams says in the TikTok video.
She pointed out the Below Deck episode was called "Blindsided," in which the episode synopsis describes the Tuohys "as some pretty tough customers."
Adams continued: "The big thing I want to focus on is Sean Tuohy's response to Captain Lee's question about how The Blind Side actually came about because it's pretty interesting."
It then cuts to the clip over Tuohy's negotiation with the film studio and describes how they were "over the moon" with the script.
"It's also not lost on me that the Tuohys are out here, yachting while their son is allegedly fighting for his rights back because they allegedly put him in a conservatorship rather than just adopting him. And their allegedly making money off of his story, while he's making none. Just some food for thought," Adams said.
Commenters agreed with her take on the clip.
"Their BD (Below Deck) episode confirmed I got the ick from them," wrote one person.
Another TikTok user commented: "Yes!! And I thought the same!! like they were sus on that episode."
And a third commenter wrote: "I used to manage vacation homes near Disney. They stayed with us and gave us riders like they were rockstars."
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more