LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Former Nickelodeon star Amanda Bynes has been placed on a 5150 72-hour psychiatric hold, according to TMZ.
TMZ reports that Bynes was walking through downtown Los Angeles (LA) early Sunday morning (March 19) alone and naked. The report states the actress waved down a car and informed the passenger(s) inside she was coming down from a “psychotic episode” before calling 911 herself.
Bynes was taken to a nearby police station for evaluation by a mental health team, who decided she should be hospitalized. She’s been put on a 5150 hold at a California facility. The hold typically lasts 72 hours but can be extended if the patient continues to meet hospital criteria for a longer stay.
This is just another incident in a laundry list of erratic behavior. Just one year ago, the Who’s the Man star was released from a nine-year conservatorship, controlled by her mother, Lynn Bynes. The conservatorship began in 2013 after a string of incidents including setting a fire in her parents’ driveway and allegations of substance abuse.
After showing signs of improvement and enrolling at the Fashion Institute, Bynes filed to end the conservatorship last year with her parents’ support – it was terminated in March 2022. Most recently, Bynes was living alone and attending cosmetology classes. However, Bynes’ ex-fiancee, Paul Michael said to Page Six exclusively that Bynes had been “off her meds” in the time leading up to Sunday.
Most recently, Bynes pulled out of a panel at 90s Con in Connecticut, due to sickness. Bynes was scheduled to appear at the nostalgia-inducing convention, but The Amanda Show star, 36, dropped out at the last minute. Her cancellation was announced via social media by the company behind the event, That’s4Entertainment.
Bynes was set to reunite with her All That castmates, Kel Mitchell, Danny Tamberelli, Lori Beth Denberg, and Kenan Thompson. Mitchell said to Entertainment Tonight (ET) at the time, “I’ve just been praying for her. It’s awesome she’s doing better. Which is great. We’re just continuing to pay for her on her journey, and it’s answered prayers that she’s doing a lot better.”
The sentiment is genuine but it appears Bynes isn’t “doing a lot better” due to Sunday’s events.
Page Six reports that a source close to the Bynes family told TMZ that despite this most recent mental break, Lynn and Rick Bynes aren’t considering another conservatorship filing and are glad their daughter called the police/911 on herself.
The Blast reports sources close to the situation said Bynes had recently begun a “startling and dramatic weight loss over the last few months,” with those around her believe she is abusing prescription medication, with reports she currently weighs less than 100 pounds.
NBCNews reports the troubled actress hasn’t seen her family “in quite some time.”
If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health issues and/or substance abuse, please contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at 800-662-4357.
