Amanda Bynes Has Been Placed on a 72-Hour Psychiatric Hold After Calling 911 for Help

The news comes after the actress canceled an appearance at '90s Con this past weekend.

Actress Amanda Bynes arrives to the 8th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball held at a private residence on June 6, 2009 in Brentwood, California.
(Image credit: Photo by Michael Tran / Getty)

Amanda Bynes has been placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold in Los Angeles after she called 911 for help.

TMZ was the first to report on the incident, after Bynes was seen in Downtown L.A. without any clothes on this past Sunday. According to the outlet, the actress "waved a car down, telling the driver she was coming down from a psychotic episode," then called the emergency services for assistance.

The mental health team at the police station where Bynes was taken decided to put her on a 5150 hold, a legal decision that can be made in California whereby the person is put on involuntary hold for a mental health assessment, according to The Treatment Specialist.

A source confirmed to Today that Bynes is on this psychiatric hold, and added, "She hasn’t been in contact with her family for quite some time."

TMZ reported that Bynes was still hospitalized as of March 20.

This comes almost exactly one year after the She's The Man star's conservatorship was terminated.

At the time, Bynes stated via her lawyer, "Following today's decision by the judge to terminate my conservatorship, I would like to thank my fans for their love and well wishes during this time. I would also like to thank my lawyer and my parents for their support over the last nine years.

"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."

Bynes was scheduled to appear at '90s Con this weekend for an All That cast reunion. Ahead of the event, she had said, "I’m really excited to reunite with my cast mates and meet the fans at '90s Con!" (via Variety).

Kelsey Weekman, a culture reporter who attended the convention, tweeted, "Really sad to hear about Amanda Bynes. She was supposed to appear at 90s Con this weekend, but called out sick at the last minute. Her fans that I spoke to were incredibly understanding and gracious about it."

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Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.