Amanda Bynes’ Conservatorship Ended After Nearly 10 Years

Amanda Bynes’ conservatorship has ended after nearly ten years. Prior to the conservatorship, Bynes gained fame through a variety of comedic shows and films. She first amassed popularity with the comedy sketch show All That and later starred in her own series, The Amanda Show. Her credits in the following years included the 2006 film She’s The Man, 2007’s Hairspray and 2010’s Easy A. Bynes’ conservatorship began in 2013 when her parents, Rick Bynes and Lynn Organ, petitioned for conservatorship over their daughter. This followed an event during which Bynes allegedly set fire to a driveway and was hospitalized on an involuntary psychiatric hold. The following year, Organ became the sole conservator, with full control over Bynes’ finances, location, and day-to-day activity.

In 2014, Bynes posted a series of inconsistent tweets, first accusing her father of abuse, then saying that the claims were untrue and caused by a microchip in her brain. Following this event, Bynes was placed on psychiatric hold in California, and during her stay, tweeted that she had been diagnosed with bipolar and manic depression. Years later, in 2018, Bynes interviewed with Paper Magazine and confessed that she had a dangerous relationship to drugs, saying she began smoking marijuana at the age of 16, and over the years, it progressed to the abuse of Adderall as well as the use of molly, ecstasy, and cocaine. Since 2020, Bynes was in a structured care facility for women dealing with a variety of ailments.

Now, after nine years, Bynes’ conservatorship has officially been terminated. Variety reported that during the hearing, Judge Roger L. Lund stated, “The conservatorship is no longer needed or required, and therefore, the petition of termination is granted.“ There were no objections during the hearing, and the event lasted just five minutes. Bynes filed to end her conservatorship on February 23 with help from her mother and psychiatrist. The psychiatrist stated that Bynes “has no apparent impairment in alertness and attention, information and processing, or ability to modulate mood and affect, and suffers no thought disorders.“

When Bynes initially filed to terminate the conservatorship, an attorney for Lynn Organ said that the conservatorship was “always meant to be temporary.” They also stated that Organ is “thrilled and proud of Amanda and ready to terminate this conservatorship based on the hard work Amanda has done.“ Bynes herself was not present at the hearing, but past All That co-stars Leon Frierson and Christy Knowing were in attendance. Frierson stated that they, “hope to speak to her and celebrate with her in some way,” to which Knowings added, they “would love to see Amanda.” 

Bynes is now looking to the future. She is engaged and currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Her attorney says, “We’re all excited and we’re all anxiously looking forward to Amanda living a life as a private and normal citizen.” He also mentioned that Bynes has thought about starting a fragrance or clothing line, and has not ruled out a return to acting. Bynes has not appeared in film or television since then, but with the end of her conservatorship, it is possible that fans will see more of her on screen in the future. 

Source: Variety

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