Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Amanda Bynes’ Psych Hold Is Extended

LOS ANGELES – A California judge gave Amanda Bynes’ mother legal control of the troubled actress’s affairs on Friday, according to court documents.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Glen Reiser granted a temporary conservatorship motion brought by Bynes’ parents, the documents said. They filed the request after the 27-year-old actress allegedly started a small fire in front of a home in the Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks last month.

Ventura County Sheriff deputies put the former teenage star of Nickelodeon series “All That” in involuntary psychiatric care at a local hospital after the July 22 incident, and Bynes has been there ever since.

Bynes’ mother, Lynn Bynes, will now have control over her financial and legal affairs. She would also gain control over Bynes’ medical treatment if the actress is released from court-ordered treatment.

It is rare for a judge to grant conservatorship in the case of adults. Most famously, pop singer Britney Spears was put under conservatorship in 2008 following a personal meltdown and divorce. Her father and lawyer remain in control of her affairs, even though her singing career has rebounded.

Bynes was born and raised in Thousand Oaks. She starred in the films “What a Girl Wants,” “She’s the Man” and “Hairspray” but has made headlines over the past year for erratic behavior, legal problems and odd posts on Twitter.

Bynes, who is on probation in California for driving on a suspended license, faces charges in the state for allegedly driving under the influence and in New York for marijuana possession and throwing a glass bong out of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.