Eyewitness Recalls Seeing Amanda Bynes Before Reported Hospitalization

As details regarding the hours leading up to Amanda Bynes reported hospitalization continue to surface, new information is coming to light about what Bynes was doing and where she was ahead of her being placed under emergency medical supervision.

As first reported by TMZ, the 36-year-old actress was placed on a psychiatric hold after she was found roaming downtown Los Angeles naked on Sunday. The outlet additionally reports that Bynes flagged a car down and told the driver she was coming down from a psychotic episode, before calling 911 herself.

An eyewitness tells ET, “Amanda was wandering alone on Hollywood Blvd. at around 1 am on Saturday. No one really recognized her or noticed her. She was walking tensely and by herself. A woman started walking with her and tried to help her. Amanda asked the woman to hold her.”

“Amanda seemed to be in a loving, wholesome mood,” the eyewitness says, and adds that Bynes, “seemed as though she was out of it.”

The eyewitness tell ET that that Bynes “asked to be dropped off at her friend’s place in Beverly Hills. When the woman went to drop her off, Amanda’s friend did not answer.”

“Amanda said she did not want to go home and noted that her boyfriend kicked her out,” the eyewitness shared. “Amanda then asked to be dropped back off on Hollywood Blvd., and the woman obliged.”

A TikTok user, KaitlynHotFox, shared a video to the platform from St. Patrick’s Day, which showed a similar situation, and included her and Bynes walking around Hollywood together. In the video, the TikToker explained, “I saw my girl walking and I had to say what’s up?” as Bynes held onto her arm.

She captioned the post, “Happy shes getting the help she needs. she was sweet, gave her some money and talked. sometime ppl just sb to talk to.”

Bynes, who was unharmed during the incident Sunday morning, was reportedly taken to a nearby police station, where a mental health team determined she needed to be placed on a psychiatric hold, law enforcement sources told TMZ.

Bynes was placed under a conservatorship in 2013, with her mother, Lynn Bynes, having legal control of her. The conservatorship came after several run-ins with police and an involuntary psychiatric hold. Bynes previously admitted she was “on drugs” during her headline-making behavior, and tweeted that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Bynes’ conservatorship was terminated in March 2022 after she “provided facts that the conservatorship is no longer needed” to the court. Her parents supported the end of the conservatorship, a source told ET at the time.

“We’re all excited and we’re all anxiously looking forward to Amanda living a life as a private and normal citizen,” Bynes’ lawyer, David A. Esquibias, told ET at the time. “Ms. Bynes’ parents have both been very supportive throughout the entire conservatorship, and have helped her work towards a positive transition into the real world, which was the goal from the beginning of the legal arrangement.”

Bynes spoke out shortly thereafter, telling ET in a statement, “In the last several years, I have been working hard to improve my health so that I can live and work independently, and I will continue to prioritize my well-being in this next chapter. I am excited about my upcoming endeavors, including my fragrance line, and look forward to sharing more when I can.”