The TMZ Podcast

Sean Tuohy is firing back at Michael Oher ... calling BS on all of the former NFL star's "insulting" allegations -- while insisting he and his family made little money off of the success of "The Blind Side."

The 63-year-old -- who was played by Tim McGraw in the 2009 hit movie -- said he was "devastated" to learn that Oher had accused him and his wife, Leigh Anne, of exploiting him for fame and money in a court filing in Tennessee on Monday morning.

Tuohy told the Daily Memphian he never tricked Oher into getting into a conservatorship ... and he certainly didn't make millions off of it either.

Instead, Tuohy said the whole ordeal went down because the NCAA told him if Oher wanted to attend Ole Miss -- he'd have to be considered part of the family due to Touhy's status as a "booster" at the school.

"I sat Michael down and told him, 'If you're planning to go to Ole Miss -- or even considering Ole Miss -- we think you have to be part of the family,'" Tuohy said. "'This would do that, legally.'"

He continued, "We contacted lawyers who had told us that we couldn't adopt over the age of 18; the only thing we could do was to have a conservatorship. We were so concerned it was on the up-and-up that we made sure the biological mother came to court."

Tuohy then said he'd "of course" end the conservatorship if that's what Oher wanted.

As for the allegations that Tuohy used the conservatorship to negotiate a big movie deal with Fox that netted massive profits for him and his family ... Tuohy said that just simply never happened.

"We didn’t make any money off the movie," Tuohy said. "Well, Michael Lewis ['The Blind Side' book author] gave us half of his share. Everybody in the family got an equal share, including Michael. It was about $14,000, each."

Tuohy says he was in no need of cash after he had sold his fast-food franchises for over $200 million.

"I will say it’s upsetting that people would think I would want to make money off any of my children," he said.

Tuohy also told the outlet his family and Oher had remained very close in the years after the release of "The Blind Side" ... though he began to notice a schism forming about a year and a half ago.

Tyrese Gibson says he's all torn up inside about the $1 million lawsuit he filed against Home Depot ... because the home improvement store is his happy place.

The 'Fast & Furious' actor was at LAX when a photog asked him how he's holding up after suing Home Depot ... and Tyrese explained why it was hard for him to pull the trigger.

As crazy as it sounds, Tyrese says Home Depot was "like my Disneyland" ... estimating he's spent close to $10 million there over the last 2 decades, which made suing the corporation all the more difficult.

Remember, Tyrese is going after Home Depot in court because he believes a cashier racially profiled him and his Latino crew members because she wouldn't allow them to use his credit card to buy supplies.

Tyrese says he hasn't heard a peep from Home Depot since he posted video of the store interaction and filed the suit ... and he says it's just one of the reasons he's thinking of taking his business over to Home Depot's biggest competitor, Lowe's.

It's interesting ... during the Home Depot incident, Tyrese name-dropped the company's CEO, threatening to have him call the cashier because they're neighbors in Atlanta. But, Tyrese says the CEO has clammed up, too, despite their supposed friendship.

Tyrese says despite his reservations, he's going through with the lawsuit on behalf of all the people who claim they've been racially profiled in Home Depot stores across the country ... and he says the lawsuit is not a money grab, but a tool to make a statement.

For Tyrese, it sounds like the defining moment of the whole fiasco was when his crew member was brought to tears by the treatment in Home Depot. Tyrese says he's standing up for minorities everywhere with his suit.

Shocking allegations from Michael Oher ... the former offensive lineman says the family who took him in, helped him become an NFL star and was later portrayed in the hit movie "The Blind Side," lied to him, never adopted him and screwed him out of potentially millions of dollars.

The ex-Baltimore Ravens tackle spelled out the eyebrow-raising claims in a petition filed in Shelby County, Tenn. on Monday ... alleging Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy "exploited" him "for their own benefit" after realizing he was a "gullible young man" with athletic talent.

Oher says he initially got involved with the Tuohys during the summer following his junior year of high school ... after he claimed "a broken social system" in Tennessee left him homeless and in need of aid.

In the docs, Oher says the couple invited him to stay in their home often during that summer to help him out, and took him on shopping trips where they'd buy him clothes. Eventually, before his senior year started, he says they asked him to move in with them.

"The Tuohys did tell Michael they loved him and that they intended to legally adopt him," Oher said in the documents. "Michael believed them, was delighted to be part of a real and stable family, and trusted Mr. and Mrs. Tuohy completely."

A short time later, however, Oher says the Tuohys pulled one over on him.

In the docs, the former football player -- who's now 37 years old -- claims the Tuohys presented him with legal papers that he believed were needed to begin the process of the family adopting him. Instead, however, he says he just learned in February 2023 that they were actually a petition to appoint them as his conservators -- a filing that would allow the Tuohys to "have total control over Michael Oher's ability to negotiate for or enter any contract, despite the fact he was over 18 years of age and had no diagnosed physical or psychological disabilities."

Oher claims the conservatorship then allowed the Tuohys to negotiate a deal with Fox for "The Blind Side," the '09 flick based on Oher's life.

Oher says the Tuohys got themselves and their kids -- but not him -- "a contract price of $225,0000 plus 2.5% of all future 'defined net proceeds.'" The movie -- in which Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy -- ended up grossing over $300 million.

Oher claims as part of the deal with Fox, a contract giving away the rights to his story without any form of payment whatsoever, was signed. Oher says he "at no time ever willingly or knowingly signed this document and that nobody" ever made him aware of what the document actually entailed.

Oher is asking for a judge to end the conservatorship. He's also asking for damages ... as well as an accounting of the money the Touhys made through contracts negotiated on his behalf. It all appears to be potentially a precursor to a lawsuit.

Oher -- who's previously been critical of "The Blind Side" over the way he feels he was wrongly portrayed as dumb -- played in the NFL from 2009 to 2016 ... starting 110 games in his career.

Oprah Winfrey was reportedly denied entry into a Maui shelter where wildfire survivors were seeking refuge ... but officials on the island are looking to clear it all up.

ICYMI, there were reports Oprah showed up to War Memorial Gymnasium in Wailuku last week with a CBS News crew, but was turned away ... and wasn't allowed in, until she told the camera ops to wait outside.

The County of Maui explained Sunday on Facebook ..."To clarify, Oprah was able to visit our shelter and we thank her for instructing media journalists and camera crews to remain outside."

In other words, Oprah wasn't singled out, she merely got the same treatment as all media showing up at the shelters.

The County went on to say, "Her visit inside of the shelter today was truly heartwarming and we appreciate her understanding of our policy of having no camera crews or reporters accompanying dignitaries and celebrities in our emergency shelters."

As we reported, video from inside the shelter on Thursday showed Oprah handing out pillows to the evacuees ... and she also passed around things like toiletries and even cots.

The part-time Maui resident took to Instagram Sunday -- after reports of her being denied entry broke -- sharing her experience with helping those in need on the island. She also says she'll be donating a big amount once the fires are out and rebuilding can begin.

The Rock and Jason Momoa are speaking up after the devastating wildfires in Maui -- and they're offering ways to help ... as well as some strongly-worded advice to outsiders.

The two Hollywood heavyweights -- both of whom have Hawaiian heritage -- have issued public statements this weekend, reflecting on the destruction left behind in Lahaina ... where the body count is now nearing the 100-person mark, with several still unaccounted for.

Jason has been posting about it all weekend, and he's plugging an organization called the Hawai'i Community Foundation ... specifically, a fund they've created to help the victims of Maui. In addition to the laying out a roadmap to resources, he's got a clear message.

To all tourists considering traveling to Hawai'i, especially Maui, JM is saying ... stay away.

He writes in no uncertain terms, "Maui is not the place to have your vacation right now. DO NOT TRAVEL TO MAUI. Do not convince yourself that your presence is needed on an island that is suffering this deeply. Mahalo to everyone who has donated and shown aloha to the community in this time of need."

Might sound like a no-brainer, but there've been on-the-ground reports of folks/tourists still frolicking in the area and enjoying their vacays, right in the middle of this disaster.

One video, in particular, has been going viral for what appears to be a group of tourists being taken out to sea near Maui by an excursion company ... this as the photog bashes the hell out of them for being insensitive about the deadly situation all around them. That company has since apologized, insisting they were gonna donate the funds from this to charity -- but vowing to halt operations for the time being. Safe to say ... that's a good call.

Now, as for Dwayne Johnson ... he, too, has addressed the crisis and is pointing people to the Hawai'i Community Foundation Maui Fund as well -- saying any donations and assistance will go a long way in helping restore the community, which is still reeling from the fires.

The Rock writes, "Heartbroken but our faith and mana is strong. First responders, health care teams, hotels, locals businesses, boots on the ground organizations and all our local heroes, stay strong - we love you and appreciate you."

He adds, "All our local families, our ohana, our aiga, stay strong thru this devastating time. Resilience resolve is our DNA. Our ancestors are in our blood. This is who we are. This is what we do. I love you. Stay strong. More to come."

Others celebs are chiming in as well -- including "Moana" star Auliʻi Cravalho -- who's been guiding people to helpful resources too. Of course, people like Jeff Bezos and Oprah are helping in a big way as well ... be it with major cash donations, or other means.

Mark Zuckerberg is tired of waiting for Elon Musk to get ready to rumble, so he's moving on -- so says the Facebook founder himself.

The techie billionaire announced Sunday he was throwing in the towel on the planning process, saying it was clear to him that EM wasn't serious about duking it out ... evidenced, at least in Mark's eyes, in all the excuses Elon has offered to postpone this thing.

MZ writes, "I think we can all agree Elon isn't serious and it's time to move on. I offered a real date. Dana White offered to make this a legit competition for charity. Elon won't confirm a date, then says he needs surgery, and now asks to do a practice round in my backyard instead."

The backyard thing is new news -- and pretty eyebrow-raising if true. Mark adds, "If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me. Otherwise, time to move on. I'm going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously."

Mark has kinda been teasing this move for a while now ... consistently refuting Elon's characterization of things, and alleging that the Twitter honcho was stonewalling on purpose.

In fact, it wasn't too long ago that Mark said he wasn't holding his breath for Elon -- and despite EM trying to hype up the fight just this past week (by mentioning the prospect of Italy as a venue), it sounds like Mark's throwing cold water on the whole thing ... calling BS.

It was a cool would-be event while it lasted, we suppose ... and time will tell if Mark pulling the plug like this will force Elon to actually commit -- but if he doesn't, it might be over.

Mark Zuckerberg is refuting Elon Musk's Friday morning claims ... saying no details of their potential fight have been finalized at all -- adding that he still wants Dana White involved in the process.

The Meta boss unloaded his side of the story on Threads on Friday afternoon -- just a couple hours after Musk told his 156 million X followers that a bunch of the particulars of the future billionaire brawl were now set in stone.

In one of his tweets ... Musk said the tilt will go down at "an epic location" in Italy. In another, he said all of the action will be live-streamed on X and Meta.

He also said White and the UFC are now out of the planning process, insisting, "The fight will be managed by my and Zuck’s foundations."

Zuckerberg, though, made it clear he hasn't agreed to any of those stipulations just yet ... writing in posts on his social media app, "please assume anything [Musk] says has not been agreed on."

"Not holding my breath for Elon, but I'll share details on my next fight when I'm ready," he added. "When I compete, I want to do it in a way that puts a spotlight on the elite athletes at the top of the game. You do that by working with professional orgs like the UFC or ONE to pull this off well and create a great card."

Zuck then said he's still training like a mad man for the potential bout -- showing off a photo of him working in his backyard Octagon.

The two businessmen initially began the process of setting up a fight way back in June ... when Musk floated the idea of a cage match following the revelation Zuck's Threads was in the works.

Oprah is helping her ohana on Maui ... personally delivering crucial supplies to folks who lost everything in the deadly wildfires that wiped out an historic town.

The media mogul, who is one of Maui's biggest private landowners, visited wildfire victims Thursday at a makeshift relief shelter ... passing out cots, pillows and toiletries.

Video shows Oprah giving a man in a cot a pillow, and he appears bandaged. Oprah reportedly offered to buy supplies for the shelter, which is overrun with folks who lost their homes in the deadly blaze.

Oprah shared moments with evacuees at War Memorial Gymnasium in Wailuku, which is being used as a shelter and a drop-off location for donations and supplies, even taking a moment to pose for photos.

Oprah owns more than 1,000 acres on Maui ... including in Hana and Kula, which is in one of the areas where the fires are raging. The blaze completely wiped out Lahaina, an historic town and popular tourist destination.

Maui's been absolutely devastated by the wildfires that ripped through the island this week, and as of Friday the death toll stands at 55. In addition to the tragic loss of life, thousands of structures burned to the ground.

Folks on Maui were forced to flee the flames with just the clothing on their backs ... so they need all the help they can get.

TMZ broke the story ... boxer Floyd Mayweather is paying for 68 families displaced by the fires to fly to safety and stay in a hotel for several weeks, and he's also footing the bill for their food and clothing.

In what could be a scene directly out of a horror movie ... Lahaina residents barely escape with their lives after diving into the ocean for relief from the city's deadly fires.

The terrifying clip shows residents -- many who appear to have grabbed whatever belongings they could last minute -- getting into the water for shelter. Some cling onto pieces of wood to stick together, while others appear to be solo.

The smoke and ash make it almost impossible for residents to see, let alone breathe ... and the diving into the water shows just how desperate the situation got on Maui.

As of Thursday night, the wildfires -- which spread at an unimaginable speed because of high winds -- were about 80% contained. However, there's still been a significant loss of life, with at least 55 people reported dead and more expected once rescue efforts conclude.

Lahaina has seemingly taken the worst hit of the towns in the area -- leaving it essentially flattened and thousands of residents without water, power and forms of communication.

The "Big Brother" houseguest who got tossed, because he used the n-word, is NOT a racist ... according to his father, who says their family ties prove a lack of prejudice.

If ya missed it, Luke Valentine was booted this week after live feeds captured him using the racial slur in conversation with 2 other white houseguests, as well as a Black man. His dad, James, tells us his son's behavior was surprising and disappointing for a few reasons.

Luke's father says his son has many family members who are Black, including a stepmom and step-siblings, as well as biracial cousins ... and he says Luke is absolutely not a racist and was not raised in a racist family.

The dad says Luke's stepmother was also disappointed to hear him use the n-word on the live feeds, but we're told she feels he's a good kid regardless and they have a good relationship.

Luke's pops also says he's never heard Luke using the racial slur, and he believes his son was not intending to be racist, though he admits his kid said the wrong thing and has to be more mindful of what comes out of his mouth.

Needless to say, Thanksgiving's gonna be interesting.

TMZ broke the story ... CBS kicked Luke off the show the same day as the incident, telling us there's "zero tolerance in the house for using a racial slur."

James says it's disappointing his son was kicked off the show, in part because he seemed to be enjoying himself, and the family wanted to see him on the program longer.

Luke Valentine's N-word fiasco was front and center in the latest installment of "Big Brother" ... and his fellow contestants struggled on how to deal with the fallout.

As you know, Valentine was booted from the CBS reality show this week after he used the racial slur during a discussion captured on a live feed with two white houseguests, Cory Wurtenberger and Hisam Goueli, and one black guest, Jared Fields.

The new episode starts off with Valentine heading to the Confession Room after he made the racially charged comment. The next day, contestant Reilly Smedley tells everyone Valentine has been tossed from the house because he violated the show's code of conduct by voicing the epithet.

The other contestants were stunned and started talking about it. Wurtenberger claimed the slur was directed at him in a casual way. Goueli said he didn't hear Valentine utter the word.

Fields chimed in, saying he didn't think it was appropriate to "have this as a family convo." He then stepped inside the confessional and explained it's hard to make people understand where he's coming from as the only Black man in the house. He went on to wish Valentine all the best.

During Thursday's episode, the show's host, Julie Chen Moonves, also addressed the drama, admitting it had been an emotional 24 hours for the Big Brother houseguests who learned of Valentine's exit the previous night.

Stay tuned. More drama to come for sure.

Floyd Mayweather is stepping up in a huge way for over 100 people displaced by the horrible wildfires in Maui … not only paying for almost 70 families to fly to safety, but also providing them with a place to stay, food to eat, and clothing to wear.

TMZ Sports has learned the 50-0 boxing legend personally paid for 68 families, impacted by the natural disaster, to fly from Maui to Honolulu over the last two days.

Mayweather is also providing the people with hotel rooms for several weeks, as well as food from local restaurants and clothing to wear while they’re away from their homes.

Our sources tell us Mayweather is working with H&M to get clothing for the men, women, and children he’s assisting.

Of course, Maui has been devastated by wildfires that ripped through the Hawaiian island, killing at least 53 people as of Thursday afternoon. on top of the tragic loss of life, over a thousand structures have burned down.

Many people have been forced to flee with just the clothing on their backs and nothing else.

Kevin Federline's family -- including his sons with ex-wife Britney Spears -- is safe in Hawaii amid the devastating Maui fires, but we're told the horrifying scenes in their new home state are upsetting the boys.

Sources close to Kevin tell TMZ ... he and Jayden James and Sean Preston -- along with Kevin's wife, Victoria -- aren't physically affected by the wildfires because they live on one of the neighboring islands, where they moved just 2 weeks ago.

The fam is settling into a new rental home, but we're told it's been traumatic for them to see all the death and devastation on Maui. As you'd expect, it's dominating all the news coverage on Hawaiian TV stations.

At least 36 people have died in Maui since the fires broke out Tuesday, making it the deadliest blaze in the U.S. since 2018 ... and all of the homes, schools and businesses in downtown Lahaina -- a tourism hot spot -- have been wiped off the map.

TMZ broke the story, Kevin and his sons packed their bags at the beginning of this month, flying to Hawaii with the boys, who opted to not say goodbye in-person to Britney.

Tony Rock is ripping the white "Big Brother" houseguest who casually used the n-word in conversation ... setting the record straight on who can and can't use the racial slur.

We got the veteran comedian at LAX on Thursday and our photog asked him about Luke Valentine getting booted from 'BB' for dropping an n-bomb on the live feed.

Tony says no one named Luke Valentine should ever say the n-word ... and his rule of thumb is to refrain from using the slur unless you are a person of color.

Chris Rock's brother also finds it interesting Luke was so quick to apologize ... he says that should be a sign Luke should have known better in the first place. He also feels it's a trend whenever people or companies offend Black people.

Tony's fascinated by the reaction from Luke's fellow white houseguests to having the n-word dropped into a conversation ... he says the virtue signaling is in full effect.

'Big Brother 25' contestant Luke Valentine created a pretty tense situation after dropping the N-word mid-conversation with some fellow houseguests.

Luke was seen chatting on the live feeds early Wednesday morning with contestants Jared, Cory, and Hisam when he said, "We were in the f****** (inaudible) room, n****." Realizing his mistake immediately, Luke tries to correct himself by saying "dude" ... and laughs it off.

Cory and Hisam immediately tense up, and rightfully so ... Luke looks over to Jared, who's Black, before apologizing. It seemed to tick off Cory and Hisam, who definitely didn't laugh with him -- instead, they step out, leaving Luke alone with Jared.

Surprisingly, Jared doesn't seem all that concerned with the apparent slip-up -- it's possible he wanted to keep his cool for gameplay purposes -- later telling Luke, "I don't give a f***," in response to the slur.

White folks dropping the N-word on 'BB' has become a reoccurring theme ... it's happened quite a bit over the years, especially in 2018 when houseguest Kaitlyn said it while quoting Drake's "0 to 100."

BTW, producers just warned the cast about their language after 2 contestants were worried their tans would make them look "ghetto."

CBS has threatened to kick people off the show for situations just like Luke's ... but it's unclear if he'll be forced to pack his bags anytime soon.

5:32 PM PT -- TMZ obtained the mug shot for Richard Roberts, who we're told is currently in jail.

11:23 AM PT -- Montgomery PD says the riverfront brawl has resulted in criminal charges -- with three white males getting rung up. However, there's still more potential charges to come ... and cops consulted with the FBI to determine if the incident was a hate crime.

Chief of Police Darryl Albert says 13 people were detained Saturday, and brought in for questioning after the fight but they were all released. After further investigation, warrants were issued for three men -- 48-year-old Richard Roberts (2 warrants for 3rd-degree assault); one warrant for 23--year-old Allen Todd (charged with 3rd-degree assault); and one warrant for 25-year-old Zachary Shipman (charged with 3rd-degree assault).

Albert says one of them is already in custody, and two are set to turn themselves in later today for booking and processing.

Now, as far as the Black man who was hitting people with a chair -- Chief Albert ID'd him as Reggie Gray, but notes he has not been charged yet ... although, MPD wants him to come in for further questioning.

One last thing ... Albert says Montgomery PD was consulting with the FBI to determine if hate crime charges are applicable or not. The investigation is ongoing -- and it sounds like this is far from over.

The Alabama riverfront brawl landed people in handcuffs, but not necessarily in jail -- which may all change starting Tuesday ... 'cause cops are about to provide a big update.

Montgomery PD is holding a press conference, where they're expected to discuss 4 arrest warrants that were issued Monday in relation to the melee that went down over the weekend. The names of the individuals who are now wanted and the exact charges they're facing have yet to be released ... that's presumably what the police are going to address.

Many assumed the fight participants were arrested on the spot Saturday at Riverfront Park -- where there's tons of video showing folks in police custody. However, authorities have since clarified that all those people were simply detained that day ... and none were arrested.

Montgomery's mayor signaled in his statement from this weekend that more consequences were coming -- and he seemed to point the finger at the group that originally started beating up the security guard/dock worker, who was trying to get them to move their boat.

Of course, all hell broke loose after that ... several others came running to this guy's defense, and a lot of 'em started whooping on the pontoon crew, pretty brutally as it turned out.

The whole thing ended up playing out along racial lines -- Black versus white, it seemed -- and there was a lot of commentary about it in the aftermath, with many championing what they perceived as an act of solidarity among the Black folks.

Time will tell who gets dragged into court over this, and how much trouble they're in.