The film was the subject of controversy in 2023 when Oher alleged the Tuohys tricked him into signing a conservatorship agreement instead of legally adopting him, which prevented him from receiving royalties[3] while the family indirectly made millions.

[4] Seventeen-year-old Michael "Big Mike" Oher has been in foster care with different families in Tennessee, due to his biological mother's drug addiction, but every time he is placed in a new home, he runs back to her.

When she learns that he plans to spend the night huddled outside the closed school gym, Leigh Anne offers to let him sleep on the couch in the Tuohy home.

However, Michael appears to be hesitant to use his strength and size while practicing, Leigh Anne tells him, as an offensive lineman, he must protect his quarterback.

However, to do that, he must meet the minimum grade point average to get in so the Tuohys hire a private tutor for him, the outspoken and kind Miss Sue.

A gang leader welcomes him back, offers him a beer, and makes sexually offensive insinuations about Leigh Anne and Collins.

After thinking things over and questioning Leigh Anne, Michael tells Granger he chose Ole Miss because "it's where my family goes to school".

Several NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision coaches and recruiters make brief appearances as themselves: Phillip Fulmer, Lou Holtz, Tom Lemming, Houston Nutt, Ed Orgeron, Pepper Rodgers, Nick Saban, and Tommy Tuberville.

[9] But after a visit with the real Leigh Anne Tuohy, Bullock not only won the role, but also took a pay cut and agreed to receive a percentage of the profits instead.

[18] By January 2010, the film had earned $200 million domestically, becoming an all-time career high for an actress whose sole name appears above the title.

[22] The Blind Side has also become the highest grossing football film and sports drama of all time domestically,[23][24] unadjusted for ticket inflation.

He found the movie to be "made up almost entirely of turning points and yet curiously devoid of drama or suspense" and called it a "live-action, reality-based version of a Disney cartoon: it's the heartwarming tale of a foundling taken in by strangers, who accept him even though he's different and treat him as one of their own.

In spite of her "feisty" and "energetic" performance, he felt that there was a lack of development concerning Michael's character: "Not until the end of the film do we ever get a chance to really see what's going on in Oher's head—how he feels about being the chosen one plucked from the poverty-stricken projects of Memphis and thrown into this protected, nonliberal-leaning environment of privilege.

Overall, he opined that the film provided "a Photoshopped image of reality that is bland, parochial, and stereotypically acted," and concluded: "There is a rich, complex story to be told about Michael Oher, and his mentor, Leigh Anne Tuohy.

"[32] Melissa Anderson of the Dallas Observer argues that the "mute, docile" portrayal of Oher effectively endorses the Uncle Tom stereotype of African-American submission to white authority.

[33] In her book, White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo criticized The Blind Side's perpetuation of "negative racial stereotypes", calling it "fundamentally and insidiously anti-black".

In his 2012 book, I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness, to the Blind Side, and Beyond, Oher wrote, "I felt like it [the movie] portrayed me as dumb instead of as a kid who had never had consistent academic instruction and ended up thriving once he got it.

"[35][37] Despite his displeasure with his portrayal in the movie Oher has stated that he likes the film's message of perseverance and the general treatment of the Tuohy family and has been quoted as saying, "It's a great story.

"[38] In August 2023, Oher filed a lawsuit alleging that Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy never actually adopted him, but instead created a conservatorship which gave them legal authority to make business deals in his name.

[39] He alleged that the Tuohys used their power as conservators to strike a deal that paid them and their two children millions of dollars in royalties from The Blind Side movie while Oher received nothing.

"[40] The producers of The Blind Side, Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove, denied the Tuohys were paid "millions", claiming the family was paid $700,000 after taxes; in addition to the contractual payments, their company Alcon Entertainment made a charitable contribution to the Tuohy family foundation and offered to donate an equal amount to a charity of Oher's choosing, which he declined.

[41] Author Michael Lewis also denied "millions" were made, claiming Twentieth Century Fox paid $250,000 for the option to make the movie, split 50-50 with the Tuohy family, with Oher declining his royalty checks, adding, "They showered him with resources and love.

[69] The change was interpreted as a response to films like The Blind Side being nominated for Best Picture to fill up the set number of spots.