The Biggest Rumors About Amanda Bynes That Just Won't Die
This article includes mentions of mental illness, substance use, sexual abuse, and racism.
The entertainment world habituates chewing up and spitting out child stars. Amanda Bynes is a classic example. She went from having it all to spiraling out of control and losing everything in the blink of an eye. Sadly, as with most former child stars who hit rock bottom, Bynes' troubles played out under the watchful eye of the press and judgmental public, accompanied by all the inevitable rumors and speculation — because, presumably, things weren't challenging enough for her already.
Drew Barrymore, Macaulay Culkin, Lindsay Lohan, and Shia LaBeouf are other notable actors who hit the big time at a young age and floundered. For them, concerns over their well-being were eventually quashed, though, as they managed to get their lives back on track. However, people have continued to be worried about Bynes as her struggles persist, seemingly with no end in sight.
It seems like Hollywood really broke Bynes. Her last acting role was in the 2010 comedy "Easy A." Since then, she's hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. In July 2013, TMZ reported that Bynes was hospitalized on a 5150 psychiatric hold after setting her neighbor's driveway on fire. A flurry of bizarre tweets, run-ins with the law, disturbing interactions with the paparazzi, troubling selfies, and bizarre public encounters led to her being placed in a conservatorship in 2013 and on another psych hold in October 2014. Bynes' conservatorship ended in March 2022, but her troubles continue, as do the rumors about her that just won't die.
That Bynes was impregnated by Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider when she was 13
One of the biggest rumors about Amanda Bynes that won't die stems from her time working with Dan Schneider. The disgraced Nickelodeon producer and screenwriter was forced to part ways with the kids' network in 2018 after an investigation found he'd been verbally abusive to staff.
Then, in March 2024, the docuseries "Quiet on Set" revealed disturbing accusations against Schneider, including claims he created a highly toxic workplace by watching pornography at work, harassing staff, abusing his position of power, pressuring female employees for on-set massages, sexualizing child stars, and making perturbing sexual innuendos. Bynes was singled out for being a primary target of Schneider's alleged impropriety. "I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology," Schneider admitted in a March 2024 interview with "iCarly" star BooG!e, aka T-Bo, following the release of the docuseries.
However, as bad as the claims were, they didn't touch on other, even more appalling, historical — and unsubstantiated — rumors about Schneider's alleged transgressions. On March 19, a TikTok account published years-old posts from what is purported to be Bynes' "secret account" on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Can you imagine having an abortion at 13 because your boss impregnated you? Committed because your father touched you?" the account Ashley Banks, which is now set to private, tweeted in 2016. "No legitimate news source can print or publish anything that I tweet or say because my name is Ashley Banks. Thanks!" the bio reads.
That Bynes was fed Adderall as a kid
Amanda Bynes has been vocal about her substance abuse disorder. Among the drugs she's admitted to abusing is Adderall. Per Addiction Center, Adderall, which is diagnosed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), is a prescription amphetamine with similar effects to meth. The most common reasons for its abuse are to aid weight loss, help with studying, improve athletic performance, and stay awake for long hours.
Bynes told Paper in November 2018 that she got the drug by going "to a psychiatrist and faking the symptoms of ADD." Bynes said she started taking it while filming "Hairspray" when she was 21 after "reading an article in a magazine that [called Adderall] 'the new skinny pill,' and they were talking about how women were taking it to stay thin." The former actor credited her parents for helping her get sober.
However, one of the rumors about Bynes is that she didn't choose to start taking Adderall as an adult — it was foisted on her when she was a teen to perk her up during filming. Bynes has never confirmed or denied the speculation, which has swirled on X, formerly known as Twitter, for years. "Amanda Bynes — was [Dan Schneider's] golden child and was his absolute favorite because her parents did not interfere at all. She would binge eat from the depression. They even feed her Adderall to make her more hyper for the scenes," a supposed industry insider posted in August 2019.
That Bynes has schizophrenia
Rumors about Amanda Bynes' mental health swirled in late 2013 following a six-month stint in rehab. E! News obtained photos of the actor out and about with her mom, looking happy and healthy. However, things soon fell apart again, resulting in armchair doctors diagnosing Bynes with schizophrenia.
"For the record, Amanda does not have schizophrenia, nor has she ever been diagnosed with it," her attorney, Tamar Arminak, told People in April 2014, insisting Bynes was medication-free and living a healthy life. Arminak also shot down reports that her client had ever abused hard drugs or alcohol. Still, as her behavior became increasingly erratic, it was clear Bynes was struggling with something. In October 2014, she flooded X, formerly known as Twitter, with a series of shocking accusations against her father, alleging sexual abuse, before denying them in a bizarre follow-up post. "My dad never did any of those things. The microchip in my brain made me say those things, but he's the one that ordered them to microchip me," she wrote in a now-deleted tweet from October 2014, posted shortly before TMZ reported she'd been placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold for a second time.
In November, Bynes shared that she'd been diagnosed as "bipolar and manic depressive" (which are the same thing, as bipolar is the updated term for manic depression). "I'm on medication, and I'm seeing my psychologist and [psychiatrist] weekly, so I'm fine :D," she wrote in a now-deleted tweet (via People).
That Bynes is racist
One of the most problematic rumors about Amanda Bynes is that she's racist. In July 2013, The Daily Beast noted that an excessive number of the tweets Bynes had posted calling people "ugly" were directed at Black celebrities, including Barack and Michelle Obama, Drake, and Jay-Z. However, Bynes saved the really poisonous vitriol for Rihanna. She claimed Chris Brown's infamous February 2009 assault happened because Rihanna "wasn't pretty enough." Bynes followed up by sharing that she had considered calling her dog Rihanna before accusing RiRi of apparently betraying her roots by "trying to be white."
The rumors about Bynes being racist were amplified in 2024 thanks to the "Quiet on Set" docuseries. Raquel Lee Bolleau, who appeared in "The Amanda Show" from 1999 to 2000, claimed Bynes repeatedly spit in her face while filming a skit where she was scripted to do a solo spit-take as she swallowed a drink.
"Here I am, a young Black girl behind the stage feeling humiliated," Bolleau told Rolling Stone. "Every time she spit in my face, they had to reset my makeup, reset my hair every time because she was taking a gulp of water and spitting it out in my face, and I could not take it anymore."
That Bynes was thrown out of fashion school for being high
2013 was a particularly hectic year for Amanda Bynes after a spate of legal troubles and ever-increasingly erratic behavior resulted in her first 5150 psych hold in July. However, following the hospitalization, Bynes appeared to be getting her life back on track. In December, she was spotted touring The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising campus in Orange County. Her attorney, Tamar Arminak, told E! News that Bynes was "looking at various colleges with the intention of majoring in fashion design." It was a subject she'd previously shown interest in when she moved to New York earlier in the year.
Bynes eagerly enrolled for the 2014 winter semester, but it quickly became apparent that her journey was not going to be smooth. She was notably absent on the first day, and her challenges persisted. TMZ reported that Bynes was expelled from the institute in September. As no reason was disclosed for the expulsion, rumors abounded.
A classmate claimed Bynes regularly turned up to college clearly high on weed, wearing sunglasses to cover up her bloodshot eyes and acting inappropriately. She apparently got into "horrendous arguments," paid fellow students to do her coursework, was caught copying from somebody else during an exam, and pitched a fit when she was called out.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, may be the victim of child abuse, or has experienced a hate crime, contact the relevant resources below:
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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
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The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.
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The VictimConnect Hotline by phone at 1-855-4-VICTIM or by chat for more information or assistance in locating services to help. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.