The Blind Side star Quinton Aaron defends Sandra Bullock amid 'heartbreaking' Tuohy family legal battle

The Blind Side star Quinton Aaron is weighing in on the Tuohy family legal battle with one simple request for folks calling for costar Sandra Bullock to return the Best Actress Oscar she won for her portrayal of matriarch Leigh Anne Tuohy: "Shut up."

Aaron, who portrayed now-retired NFL player Michael Oher in the Best Picture-nominated film, tells EW it has been "shocking" and "heartbreaking" to learn of Oher's claims that the Tuohy family never actually adopted the athlete, but tricked him into a conservatorship for financial gain. The actor also equates those bringing Bullock into the drama to "looters" who show up to a riot just to "cause havoc."

"Go sit in the corner, face the wall, and think about what you just [said]," Aaron quips. "One has nothing to do with the other. Sandra didn't pull the wool over anybody's eyes. Sandra didn't create this, you know what I mean? She's an actress who got paid to do a job. She did it very well and she was recognized for her talents. Why do you take that away from her? My mom used to always tell me, 'Think before you speak,' and now I know why."

Everett Collection Sandra Bullock and Quinton Aaron in 'The Blind Side'

"The Blind Side has been such a beacon of hope for people," Aaron says. "It's heartbreaking because these are people that I've met, these are people that I've grown to respect and get to know for the period that we did this project that saved my life, and to hear this come out like this in the media, it is just — I just pray that the two can meet some kind of resolve to where everyone can be made whole and it doesn't completely destroy what they built over the years, because aside from everything, aside from the movie, aside from this or that, they were a family."

The 2009 film tells the story of Oher, a Black homeless teen who is taken in by the white Tuohys and soon realizes his potential as a student and football player. In a 14-page petition requesting the termination of his conservatorship, Oher alleges the adoption at the center of the 2009 film is fraudulent, and that the Tuohys orchestrated the conservatorship for the legal authority to make business deals in his name. The former Football player is asking the court to bar the family from using his name and likeness, and is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, in addition to an accounting of the profits the Tuohys earned while "exploiting" his name.

Matthew Sharpe/Getty Images Michael Oher and Leigh Anne Tuohy

Bullock has not commented regarding the news of Oher's lawsuit. Earlier this month, the actress asked for privacy following the death of her longtime partner Bryan Randall, who died after a three-year battle with ALS.

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