Disability advocates say Amanda Bynes' conservatorship case is not the norm

[Jilly_in_VA]

Amanda Bynes' conservatorship was terminated Tuesday without public contention or fanfare. But disability advocates say her case is not the norm, and warn against using Bynes as evidence that conservatorships don't need to be reformed.

Bynes' parents filed to place her in a conservatorship in 2013, following what the former child actor previously described as a dark period in her life. Her case has rarely played out in the public eye and draws a contrast to that of pop star Britney Spears, whose conservatorship was dissolved after a protracted, public court battle and has led to legal reform efforts in California.

Zoe Brennan-Krohn, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union's Disability Rights Program, noted that Bynes' conservatorship, which was apparently dissolved more easily than Spears', is unlike other cases she's seen.

"I do know of cases where where the court is, essentially the holdout that … like in this case, the conservator and the conservatee agree that they want the conservatorship to end, and the court chooses not to end it anyway," Brennan-Krohn said. "And I think there's a real paternalism in that ... view of people with disabilities as not fully adult, not fully human."

In July 2013, Bynes was put in a 72-hour psychiatric hold after reportedly setting a fire at her home. Her parents requested the court to place her under conservatorship after what their attorney described as paranoid behavior fueled by substance abuse, according to the Los Angeles Times at the time.

Bynes herself admitted to substance abuse and serious body image issues affecting her mental health prior to the conservatorship during a 2018 Paper magazine interview.

Ventura Superior Court Judge Roger L. Lund dissolved Bynes' case on the grounds that the basis for her conservatorship no longer exists.

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/disability-advocates-say-amanda-bynes-conservatorship-case-isnt-norm-rcna21113

[obamanut2012]

1. She also has a loving and supportive family

And, her parents backed her up on this. It is indeed a rare case.

[Gore1FL]

2. She was such an amazing talent as a kid.

I imagine all of the pressure of her show and whatever Dan Schneider was doing. It's really no wonder she had a dark cloud over her. I am glad to hear she seems to have recovered; it's weird that the court took the longest to acknowledge that.

[Jilly_in_VA]

3. In contrast to this

I am listening to a podcast about Britney Spears' story. Gods, what a horror story that was! Her family puts the "DYS" in "dysfunctional", to put it mildly. And does anyone have much doubt that if Kanye were a young white female, someone would have done that to him?