People on social media are taking issue with the “disrespectful” reporting on Amanda Bynes’ latest mental health crisis, noting that she was “self-aware” enough to flag down a passing car in downtown Los Angeles, tell the motorist she was having a psychotic episode and call 911 herself.
What fans see as an objectionable spin on Bynes’ crisis apparently began with TMZ, which reported that the former Nickelodeon star — who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder — “was placed” on a psychiatric hold after she was found early Sunday morning roaming near downtown Los Angeles “naked and alone.”
Musician and actor Erika Heidewald objected to the wording — “found naked and alone” and “placed” on psychiatric hold — saying such language “removed her agency.”
“She was able to recognize that she was in psychosis, ask someone for help, and call 911 herself,” Heidewald said in a series of tweets. “That’s (expletive) impressive. … Amanda Bynes demonstrated a really impressive level of self awareness and commitment to her mental health.”
i find it really disrespectful that the headlines say Amanda Bynes was “found” naked and alone and “placed” on a psychiatric hold – removing her agency. she was able to recognize that she was in psychosis, ask someone for help, and call 911 herself. that’s fucking impressive https://t.co/W8RC1ZKE5e
— Erika Hersteria (@erikaheidewald) March 20, 2023
“Realizing you’re having an episode is HUGE,” tweeted another fan. “Praying for her and wishing her a continued recovery.”
Bynes’ parents reportedly agree that her calling for help shows she’s made progress in taking care of herself, enough that they view this crisis as an “anomaly” and not a reason to put her into another conservatorship, TMZ also reported.
“We’re told her parents are also taking comfort in the fact Amanda was self-aware enough to recognize she was in trouble, flagging down a car for help and calling 911 herself,” TMZ said.
Bynes’ ex-fiancé, Paul Michael, said the crisis was likely the result of her not taking her medication. Michael, who said the two remain friends after breaking up in July, told Page Six: “She got off her meds, and she’s still off her meds. She’s wild.”
Like Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, the 36-year-old Bynes is a one-time child star who became a Hollywood cautionary tale in the early 2000s. Her once promising career in hit films like “She’s the Man” and “Hairspray” derailed as she entered her teens and early 20s and dealt with the pressures of massive fame and tabloid attention. By the early 2010s, she made headlines for her erratic behavior and arrests, including for driving under the influence.
After being hospitalized in 2013, Bynes’ parents filed for conservatorship, which was granted in 2014. Bynes dropped out of the spotlight and focused on obtaining a degree at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and learning to live independently.
A judge ruled to end her conservatorship in March 2022, People reported. Through her attorney, Bynes expressed thanks to her fans, her lawyer and her parents “for their support over the last nine years.”
“In the last several years, I have been working hard to improve my health so that I can live and work independently, and I will continue to prioritize my well-being in this next chapter,” Bynes said in a statement.
At the time, Bynes reportedly was “looking forward” to moving in with then-fiancé Michael, who proposed in February 2020.
In October, Bynes took to social media to announce another career switch — that she was in cosmetology college, taking class to become a certified nail technician, Yahoo reported.
But by October, Bynes and Michael had gone through a messy split, during which she publicly accused him of not “taking his medications,” relapsing with “crack cocaine” and watching “mom-and-son porn,” Page Six reported.
Michael denied those allegations in an interview with Page Six Monday, during which he said that he was the one who ended the relationship, leaving to “get my own place” and to “establish boundaries.” Despite her attempts to “shame” him, Michael said the two resumed a friendship.
It doesn’t appear that Bynes was hurt in her episode over the weekend, but she’ll likely remain hospitalized for several days, reports say. She was placed on a psychiatric hold, under section 5150 of California’s Welfare and Institutions Code, which allows an adult who is experiencing a mental health crisis and causing danger to themselves or others to be involuntarily detained for a 72-hour psychiatric hospitalization.
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