Amanda Bynes’ Conservatorship Is Tentatively Over After Nine Years (UPDATE)
A little less than a month ago, Amanda Bynes filed to end the conservatorship she’d been under since 2013. That was a whole other time, Amanda was still fighting people on Twitter and cosplaying as Blac Chyna back then. But a lot has changed in 9 years, and Amanda felt that it was the right time to let Amanda be in control of The Amanda Show, so to speak. A judge has agreed that Amanda shouldn’t see the 10-year anniversary of her conservatorship, and yesterday a temporary release was granted. UPDATE: In a hearing today, the judge officially put an end to Amanda’s conservatorship so now she’s officially freeeeeee!
Amanda, who turns 36 next month, had been under a conservatorship controlled by her parents, Lynn and Rick Bynes, after things got very messy in her life. That’s when Lynn and Rick took over, and Amanda stepped back from the spotlight. Since then, Amanda has focused on going to school at FIDM, staying healthy, and her boyfriend, Paul Mitchell. According to Amanda’s lawyer, everyone supported the move for Amanda to be the one steering the bus from here on out, including her parents. So yesterday, a judge in Los Angeles issued a tentative judgment, stating that Amanda’s free. The decision should become official at a hearing scheduled for today. via Variety:
That petition, which was filed on Feb. 23 with the support of her mother, attorney and psychiatrist, was accompanied by a capacity declaration, since the state of California requires all conservatees to provide updated information on their mental state from their physician or medical practitioner. Bynes’ psychiatrist wrote in the filing that she “has no apparent impairment in alertness and attention, information and processing, or ability to modulate mood and affect, and suffers no thought disorders.”
“I’m excited for her. She is excited,” Bynes’ attorney, David A. Esquibias, tells Variety, speaking Monday evening, ahead of the hearing. “We’re all excited and we’re all anxiously looking forward to Amanda living a life as a private and normal citizen.”
Bynes will not be present at Tuesday’s hearing, her attorney tells Variety.
Amanda hasn’t personally commented on this decision just yet. The last time Amanda spoke about her choice to file to end her conservatorship, she kept it simple, telling people in a short Instagram video that she was grateful for the support, and that she was looking forward to her hearing. And since Amanda won’t be at that hearing today, there won’t be a chance for reporters to get up in Amanda’s face and ask what she has planned with all her newfound freedom. This is probably for the best, considering Amanda hasn’t really been about that publicity-based life for nearly a decade. Plus, Amanda is happy to give the odd update on Instagram, like how one of the things on her current to-do list is to keep showing up for her tattoo removal appointments. And, she might end up returning to acting. Possibly. via Variety:
“Besides normalcy as a person and a student, I know that she is looking forward to what her next step is going to be,” Esquibias says. “One of the things that she’s talking about is a fragrance line and possibly a clothing line, while she is concentrating on school. She is very creative, so she’s trying to find an outlet for that. I have not heard her say that she’s interested in returning to becoming an actress, but I wouldn’t rule that out.”
Obviously, Amanda shouldn’t rush anything, and she’s got plenty of time to figure out what it’s like to be a mid-30s adult making their own decisions. And if acting is one of those choices, then congratulations to her. Her work in What A Girl Wants speaks for itself. But if Channing Tatum is listening, he should keep his phone on in the event Amanda calls in a favor. After all, it’s only right, considering Amanda Bynes is the reason Channing is hip-thrusting and bicep-flexing at an A-list level, to begin with!
Pic: Instagram