Amanda Bynes is unrecognisable as she launches new podcast after ‘psychotic episode’

Amanda Bynes looked unrecognisable as she returned to the spotlight with her own podcast just months after she was hospitalised for a “psychotic episode”.

The former actress rose to fame as a Nickelodeon child star and went on to become a movie star in the early 2000s as she starred in a series of hit teen films including What a Girl Wants, She’s the Man, Hairspray and Sydney White. But after starring alongside Emma Stone in Easy A in 2010 Amanda suddenly retreated from Hollywood and announced her retirement from acting.

The now 37-year-old has recently made a return to the entertainment industry though as she launched a new podcast with her friend Paul Sieminski over the weekend. Taking to Instagram to announce its release, Amanda shared a photo of herself alongside Paul and their first podcast guest, tattoo artist Dhalia Moth.

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The trio could be seen sitting on a couch together as they each made peace signs. Amanda looked completely different from her acting days as she showed off her new platinum blonde hair, which she wore in space buns, in the photo as well as her contrasting dark eyebrows.

She captioned the post: “First episode of Amanda Bynes & Paul Sieminski: The Podcast done. Thank you @dahliamoth!” The first episode saw Amanda, who has a small heart-shaped tattoo on her left cheek, talk about face tattoos with the tattoo artist.

She told her: “Nobody cares anymore if people have face tattoos. It shouldn’t matter.” The podcast, which is on Spotify and will also be available in video format, marks Amanda’s first on-screen project since Easy A.

Back in 2013, she was placed under conservatorship following a series of run-ins with the law — including arrests for a a hit-and-run, throwing a marijuana bong out of the 36th floor of her Manhattan apartment and DUI charges — as well as a bout of bizarre Tweets. In 2018 Amanda revealed she’d been diagnosed with “bipolar and manic depressive” and opened up about how drug abuse had “ruined” her life.

In an interview with Paper magazine, she admitted she started smoking marijuana when she was 16 but revealed she eventually “progressed to doing molly and ecstasy” and that her drug abuse only got worse when she retired from acting. “I got really into my drug usage and it became a really dark, sad world for me,” she said.

At the time Amanda was hopeful for her future as she told the publication: “I’ve been through the worst and came out the other end and survived it so I just feel like it’s only up from here.” In 2022 her conservatorship was terminated by a judge with the support of her parents, Lynn and Rick Bynes, after nearly a decade.

But the release of her podcast comes after a turbulent year for the Hairspray star as she continued to struggle with mental health issues. In March she was placed on psychiatric hold after she was allegedly found wandering the streets of downtown Los Angeles naked and alone.

Amanda reportedly flagged down a passing car and told the driver she was “coming down from a psychotic episode”. She then called 911 herself and was taken to a local police station, where cops decided to place her on a 5150 psychiatric hold.

Amanda announced she and Paul were working on a podcast in November. In a video posted to Instagram, she said: “At first we are going to interview our friends and then we’re hoping to take it mainstream and interview celebrities and artists.”

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk