Former child star Amanda Bynes has been placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold, according to reports. This comes almost a year after her conservatorship was terminated, and shortly after she cancelled an appearance at 90s Con. Reports suggest Bynes called 911 on herself, after she was found wandering around downtown Los Angeles naked and alone. When she came out of a psychotic episode, she supposedly flagged down a car and asked for help. Law enforcement sources say Bynes was taken to a nearby police station before a mental health team decided she needed to be placed on a 5150, which is when a person is detained for a 72-hour psychiatric hospitalization. A source has confirmed that Bynes is on a 72-hour hold, adding that “she hasn’t been in contact with her family for quite some time.”
Bynes’ ex-fiancé, Paul Michael, has claimed to Page Six that the actress has been “off her meds.” This is a concerning development as Bynes has struggled with mental health issues in the past. In 2014, she claimed on Twitter that she had been diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder and manic depression – although she later retracted the tweet. Bynes has also spoken in the past about her addiction to the prescription medicine Adderall.
In 2013, Bynes was involved in numerous run-ins with the police after several troubling incidents in the public eye. She was placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold after starting a fire in the driveway of a Thousand Oaks, California home. Following this, her conservatorship was established, before being made permanent after another involuntary hospitalization in 2014. It was terminated by the courts in March 2021, with Bynes thanking her family, her lawyer and her fans at the time.
Since then, Bynes moved in with her ex-fiancé, whom she reportedly met in a sober living facility. In April, the actress took to social media to accuse Michael of relapsing and watching porn, sharing other personal information as well. He claimed not to know what she was talking about, but the pair ended their engagement in July.
Bynes was set to attend 90s Con over the weekend, which would have marked her first public appearance since the termination of her conservatorship. However, she backed out last minute due to what was originally described as an “unknown illness.”
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Bynes, who was once a promising young actress in Hollywood. Her recent behavior will lead many to question whether she should have been released from her conservatorship, and what steps can be taken now to ensure her wellbeing.
