Sandra Bullock’s ‘The Blind Side’ Co-Star Quinton Aaron Comes To Her Defense As Trolls Call For Her Oscar To Be Revoked

Aug 17, 2023

Sandra Bullock is a talented actress known for her starring turn in films such as “While You Were Sleeping,” “Miss Congeniality,” “The Proposal” and “Ocean's 8.” One of her most celebrated roles was as Leigh Anne Tuohy in the football drama “The Blind Side,” based on real-life events. However, as controversy began to swirl around the Tuohy family in 2023, the star was pulled into the dispute. Since then, one of her co-stars in the movie has rushed to defend the star, saying the uproar surrounding the Tuohy family had nothing at all to do with Bullock.

Released in 2009 and directed by John Lee Hancock, “The Blind Side” is a heartwarming sports drama that tells the inspiring true story of Michael Oher, a homeless and underprivileged African-American teenager who is taken in by the Tuohy family and eventually becomes a successful NFL player. Bullock took on the role of the Tuohy matriarch Leigh Anne, a strong-willed woman who plays a pivotal role in Oher’s life. Her performance resonated deeply with audiences and critics alike, leading to an Academy Award for Best Actress.

However, circumstances in real life were not as rosy. In August 2023, Oher filed a suit against Leigh Anne and her husband Sean Tuohy, claiming that they never legally adopted him. Instead, he claimed they held a conservatorship that allowed them to make business decisions using his name without his full understanding, as he was 18 years old at the time. He also alleged Leigh Anne and Sean, as well as their two children, received millions of dollars in residual checks over the years from “The Blind Side” while he received nothing. 

In response, the Tuohys made some incendiary claims against Oher as well, including that he attempted to extort $15 million from them.

A lawyer for Leigh Anne, Sean and their children told People that Oher, now 37, threatened to “plant a negative story about them in the press unless they paid him $15 million” and that the former NFL lineman “has actually attempted to run this play several times before.”

According to a petition filed by Oher to the courts, he was seeking an end to the conservatorship. He was also seeking an injunction to bar the Tuohys from using his name and likeness. Oher was also seeking a full accounting of the money the Tuohys earned using his name, and to have them pay him his fair share of profits, as well as unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

As the back-and-forth continued between Oher and the Tuohys, Bullock, who has stayed mum on the issue, has been pulled into the fray. Certain parties have criticized her over her silence on the matter and some have even called for her Oscar to be revoked.

“Sandra Bullock should give her Oscar back. She knows she didn’t deserve that s—,” sports broadcaster Brandon Walker posted on social media. 

However, Bullock’s co-star, Quinton Aaron, who portrayed Oher in “The Blind Side,” has come to her defense, taking aim at her detractors for stirring the pot at a difficult time in Bullock’s personal life. Bullock’s long-time partner, Bryan Randall, passed away on Aug. 5, 2023, after battling Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) secretly for three years. After the release of her 2022 film “The Lost City,” Bullock announced that she was taking a break from acting indefinitely.

“Work in front of the camera needs to take a pause… until I don’t feel like I feel now when I’m in front of a camera,” she told CBS Sunday Morning.

As the Tuohy drama raged on, Aaron stepped up to back Bullock. In an interview with the New York Post, Aaron urged the online trolls and any other critics to “stop trying to come for Sandra because you’re going to make me mad and they are going to have to come through me!” 

He said the way detractors were trying to pull Bullock into the issue was reflective of today’s media and online environment that craves scandal and fans outrage.

“We are living in a day and age where people are hell bent on pointing the blame on people and are just throwing things out there that’s wrong. It’s like saying, ‘Let’s throw this person to the wolves,’” Aaron remarked. 

He added that, “as a Christian, I feel like the best thing I can do is pray about it and hope a resolve comes to fruition that can be a benefit to both parties.”

Aaron urged those intent on pulling Bullock down to exercise restraint and said:

“Sandra did nothing wrong. That’s my girl and she is going through a really tough time right now. I really feel like they should leave her alone and stop trying to come at her.”

Aaron had earlier defended Bullock to TMZ, telling the outlet that involving Bullock in the issue “doesn’t make any sense.” 

“Sandra Bullock didn’t have anything to do with the real story that we’re reading as of right now,” he said.

He said calls for her Oscar to be taken from her were nonsensical as she earned it fair and square through her exceptional portrayal in “The Blind Side.”

“She gave a brilliant performance. And that shouldn’t be tarnished for something that had nothing to do with her,” he added.

Do you think it’s fair to pull Sandra Bullock into the controversy surrounding the Tuohys? Should she have her Academy Award revoked? Let us know what you think, then pass this along to family and friends to get their take on it, too.