Nick Cannon and Amanda Bynes first met when they were bright, young Nickelodeon stars more than a decade ago. Since then, he went on to marry Mariah Carey and become a popular television host, while she catapulted to silver-screen fame and then spiraled out of control.
In a touching post on his personal website Wednedsay, Cannon wrote an open letter to Bynes, saying that the issue is no laughing matter and referring to her as his "family."
"I tweeted a few weeks about how the entertainment industry just consumes people and spits them out like flavorless bubblegum," he wrote. "A few chews of enjoyment then they’re under a city bus bench. Don’t get me wrong this is not a pity for the popular statement. I am always the first to say that fame and entertainment is one of the best and easiest occupations to ever have, but one must know how to navigate through the matrix or you may find yourself in a very dark hole."
He goes on to say, "Imagine being the breadwinner in your household before you can even drive" or never hearing the word "no." Although being a celebrity comes with fame and fortune, it also comes with its pitfalls, he noted. A lack of balance, no sufficient support system and media scrutiny are just some of the challenges.
He concluded his post with a direct message to Bynes:
So I say to my sister Amanda Bynes you’re not alone. I’m here for you. I understand. I care and I appreciate you, because that’s what family does and that’s what family is for. I also extend this to anyone else in my life, past or present that may find themselves in hard times. I’m here! Call me! Because I truly believe, the hand you’re helping up today may be the one you’re reaching for tomorrow. So not to be all cheesy and over sentimental but I got to end this with the ingenious Wither’s lyrics "Lean on me when you’re not strong and I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on. For it won’t be long until I’ll need somebody to lean on.”
The "America's Got Talent" host spoke with InTouch magazine this week and said he had reached out to the troubled star within the past six weeks. He continues to pray that she will get better and get the help she needs.
Other former child stars have previously spoken out about Bynes' meltdown. Evan Rachel Wood tweeted, “You know, we sit back and watch these ‘child stars’ lose their childhood. And then we wonder why they grow up and lose their minds.”
Bynes is currently under involuntary psychiatric hold in a Ventura, Calif., facility, the Los Angeles Times notes. She was detained on July 22 for starting a fire in the driveway of a Thousand Oaks home belonging to an elderly woman she has no connection to. The 5150 hold came after months of increasingly bizarre behavior. The actress has appealed a judge's order for her to remain in the facility for 14 days.
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