Amanda Bynes: #FreeBritney supporters are now fighting for her

On Wednesday (September 29) a court ruled that Britney Spears’ (39) father Jamie (69) will be suspended as her guardian. The provisional office will be taken over by John Zabel until the end of the year. For the pop singer, this could mean that the guardianship will soon come to an end. Supporters of the #FreeBritney movement who have championed their idol for years celebrate Spears’ victory in court. And they already have their eyes on the next star worthy of support: actress Amanda Bynes (35), who is also under guardianship.

spoke to some #FreeBritney supporters after the court ruling. Megan Radford, one of the organizers, said the movement would focus on Britney Spears until she was “officially free”. But next, they would “definitely” help Amanda Bynes and fight to end her guardianship. However, as several supporters of the movement emphasized, the two guardians cannot be compared with one another. There are both similarities and differences.

Both were teen stars

Both started their careers as teen stars. While Britney Spears delighted as a singer with tracks like “… Baby One More Time” (1999) or “Oops! … I Dit It Again” (2000), Amanda Bynes was the star of several films. These include, for example, “Lügen Have Short Legs” (2002), “What Girls Want” (2003), “Hairspray” (2007) and “Easy To Have” (2010).

But the success left its mark on the two stars. Britney Spears suffered a violent crash, in 2007 she shaved her hair and in 2008 she was admitted to a clinic. In the same year she was incapacitated and her father was appointed as her guardian. After that, she continued to successfully publish music and toured the world. In 2019 she announced a break from work and the #FreeBritney movement emerged. However, she has been fighting against guardianship since 2014.

Amanda Bynes is under the tutelage of her mother

While Spears made a comeback after her collapse, Bynes stayed largely out of the public eye. Her drug use became known in 2012, which resulted in multiple police interventions and charges in court. In 2013, she is said to have started a fire in a neighbor’s garden, after which she was admitted to a clinic. Bynes’ parents then applied for guardianship over their daughter. Her mother was installed as a temporary guardian.

After the actress posted several confusing tweets in 2014 accusing her father of sexual abuse, among other things, her mother took over the guardianship again. A short time later, Amanda Bynes announced via Twitter that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and manic depression.

In 2018, the guardianship was extended to 2020, just a few days ago again until 2023. The now 35-year-old declared in 2018 that, thanks to the help of her parents, she had been clean for four years. The days of her drug excesses are over, she is “ashamed” of “how the substances made me act”.

Amanda Bynes has financial freedom – Britney Spears does not

Since 2017, Bynes has also regained full control of her assets – unlike Britney Spears. The actress enjoys more freedom while Spears regularly goes to court for financial approvals. Another big difference between the stars is the media coverage: Britney Spears remained successful and thus present after her collapse in 2007, Bynes withdrew from the public in 2011.

In addition, the actress keeps her life and opinion about guardianship private. Spears, on the other hand, was open about her situation both in court and on Instagram. The guardianship killed her dreams,.

The last major headlines about Amanda Bynes came in the past year: She allegedly got engaged, then separated, and was expecting a child. At the beginning of 2019, the former teen star was admitted to a clinic, and in 2020 she is said to have been in a facility for the mentally ill.