In 2002, Amanda Bynes was on top of the world.
The then 16-year-old, who made her start on Nickelodeon before she had even hit high school, was the world’s most adored child star.
From feature films to a handful of shows on Nickelodeon, Bynes essentially dominated the screens of teenagers around the world.
In 2017, Amanda Bynes gave her first interview in four years. Post continues below.
After rising to prominence on Nickelodeon show, All That, Bynes began starring in her very own sketch comedy show, The Amanda Show.
Before long, the show became the most successful on the network, leading Bynes to win the Favourite Television Actress award at the Kids' Choice Awards four years in a row. At the time, Bynes was also embarking on her third television series, WB’s What I Like About You.
In the eyes of the media and her close supporters, Bynes could do no wrong.
In fact, in 2002, The New York Times labelled Bynes a new kind of child star.
"Ms. Bynes is like Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett and Gilda Radner rolled into one 16-year-old package," the publication reported.
Top Comments
Another one of the many reasons I would hate to be famous, having every mistake, every bad moment of your life mentioned whenever someone writes about you, even when it's supposed to be about a positive thing, like getting engaged. Just a few days ago, you called out the tabloid press for "fuelling" the trolling and cruelty that comes when people see someone "crashing and burning on a public stage". Do you really think that we need two articles, virtually identical, in the space of two days, rehashing all the difficulties Amanda has had over the past few years? You can talk about her engagement without all the gory details of her mental breakdown attached.
Yes, the kindest and most appropriate thing the press should do is not cover Bynes at all. She's clearly not well, and hasn't been for a long time. Leave her alone and quit feeding the cycle.