Is Amanda Bynes crazy? Here’s why she’s under a conservatorship

A few months ago everyone was talking about Britney Spears, but she isn’t the only celebrity paying the bill of growing under a spotlight, let’s not forget Amanda Bynes.  Bynes was most known for her role in Hairspray (2007) by Adam Shankman, however, she was one of the most famous child celebrities. Repeatedly, when celebrities start being famous as kids, the pressure gets impossible to handle. 

Amanda Bynes was an American actress, T.V. host, and singer. She’s currently preparing to become a fashion designer. However, in 2013 she ended up under the conservatorship of her mother Lynn after psychiatric hospitalization due to drug use. Lynn filled Bynes conservatorship documents under the statement that she “poses a substantial risk to herself, to others, and to property”. 

Nevertheless, the time has gone by, and the thirty-five-year-old Bynes presented the documents to end her conservatorship on February 23rd. It looks like she’s getting it, and contrary to Britney, with the full support of her family. According to the media, Bynes has dedicated time to studying and made significant changes in her life. Hopefully, she’ll get her full independence on March 22nd.

Was she really crazy?

“Crazy” is a word used constantly to describe someone mentally unstable, however, this term is also easily applied to anything that goes out of the norm. Usually in a negative way. Michel Foucault established that craziness has no sense without values and social norms to follow. So, being crazy isn’t only about mental health, but about being and behaving in a certain way. 

Structurally, feelings aren’t allowed to be expressed, and people are called crazy when they do. There’s a whole chapter in the history of psychology dedicated to “hysterical” women. So, saying Amanda Baynes is crazy might be a reductionist way to describe her, or anybody having an emotional breakdown. Lituan filmmaker Jonas Mekas said all artists have mental issues, that he wouldn’t trust one who didn’t. 

Bynes might have had questionable and even punishable behavior, and something had to be done, that’s why conservatorships exist for a reason. However, behind her drug use and the damage caused, there’s a vulnerable woman unable to handle her feelings because people are systematically not allowed to. 

Clearly, Hollywood isn’t the most suitable place to have a crisis. Nevertheless, something good about cases like Spears & Bynes’s is the fact that they’re making the dark side of life visible. Movies, T.V. shows, and now social media, are all about reproducing a happy-ever-after fiction that nobody really has. Knowing celebrities have mental issues too, changes the general perception of it.

What’s next for Amanda Bynes?

Bynes has a court hearing on March 22nd to legally be independent, but what’s up for her next? In the last few years, Bynes has made several changes in her life. She has improved her relationship with her parents and started studying fashion at the Fashion Institute for Design & Merchandising of Los Angeles (FIDM). However, she’s still missing some time to finish her career. 

Even though she has a great relationship with her mother, who has her legal conservatorship, she’s now a responsible adult and should be free to decide. Once she ends her conservatorship, she’ll be able to get married, move freely and live wherever she wants. 

It’s difficult to determine Bynes’s plans next, however, her mother Lynn has told the media that her daughter is now capable of managing her life & welfare. Regardless, conservatorships aren’t only about behavior, but money. In this case, Bynes’s father Ricky has her assets on a living trust fund, however, she solicited an account with her assets to her lawyer.