In 2012 and 2013, Amanda Bynes was a mess. CB and I debated her issues just amongst ourselves, and my takeaway was always that Amanda has legit mental health issues, plus substance abuse problems that go further than “she likes to smoke pot.” It wouldn’t surprise me if Amanda was/is an alcoholic, nor would it surprise me if Amanda’s substance abuse included meth, heroin, cocaine and basically anything she could get her hands on. After multiple arrests and legal situations on both coasts, Amanda finally was forcibly put into some kind of rehab/treatment center for three months. Amanda’s mother was also appointed conservator over Amanda’s money and her medical situation.
Skip ahead to April of this year… in a weird, out-of-nowhere move, Amanda’s lawyer and her mom issued statements about Amanda’s progress. They claimed she was “cured” because she was no longer smoking pot, and that she had no mental condition (like schizophrenia, which was the armchair-diagnosis that had gotten a lot of traction). Additionally, her lawyer said that Amanda was completely drug-free, as in she was not on any medication for any mental health issue. It all seemed like another disaster was inevitable. Well, guess what? Yep.
Sad news for Amanda Bynes. The 28-year-old actress was arrested on Sunday morning at 3 a.m. for DUI, the California Highway Patrol confirms to E! News. She has been charged with a misdemeanor after police “determined she was under the influence of a controlled substance” while driving. The former Nickelodeon star was held at the Van Nuys, Calif., station on $15,000 bail before she was released at 12:44 p.m. that same day.
According to officials, Bynes was traveling westbound on Riverside Drive in Sherman Oaks as she approached the intersection at a red light on Van Nuys Boulevard. She stopped for the red light, but she stopped in the middle of the intersection, at which point the actress was pulled over and “given a series of field sobriety tests, which she was unable to complete.”
Bynes was then transported to the CPH West Valley Office where she was given a drug evaluation test that determined she was under the influence of a controlled substance (the substance is unknown). She currently has an upcoming court date scheduled for Oct. 23.
TMZ’s sources (probably the arresting officers) say that Amanda was on a “stimulant” while driving, but the exact drug is not known at this time. Sources also say that Amanda is back to smoking weed all the time now. This arrest will probably affect her probation – she was sentenced to three years’ probation last February. Oh, here’s something I didn’t know: Amanda’s conservatorship ended in early September. Ah!!! That makes more sense. Amanda was back on her own and she fell back into her terrible habits.
PS… Michael K at Dlisted says that THIS is Amanda’s undercover Twitter account. Hm. Whoever it is, she’s been posting TBT photos of vintage Amanda Bynes. So, yeah, why not?
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
