Nick Cannon writes to Amanda Bynes: ‘I’m here for you’

Nick Cannon, who appeared on “All That” with Amanda Bynes back in the day, has written an open letter on his website to his “sister,” pledging his support in her time of need and declaring her situation to be “no laughing matter.”

Bynes is on an extended psychiatric hold for evaluation after being involuntarily committed on a 5150 call in Thousand Oaks early last week. She was detained after starting a small fire in a stranger’s driveway and igniting her own pants in the process, then fleeing to a nearby liquor store to rinse off her small dog, which may have had gasoline on it.

The “America’s Got Talent” host was moved to write the letter, he said, after being “hit with an onslaught of questions about someone I consider family, someone I watched grow up, and someone I genuinely feel is one of the most pleasant human beings I have had the pleasure of meeting, Amanda Bynes.”

After describing a celebrity in a downturn as “a delicate piece of tissue under the sun” and the media as a “magnifier” that can send the situation up in flames, Cannon noted, “[W]e all sit back and judge these people for our own entertainment. We say things like, ‘I’m glad I’m not famous,’ ‘Celebrities are Crazy,’ ‘See what fame and money does to people.’ And most of the time your assumptions and accusations may be accurate but also inappropriate.”

Indeed, the coverage of Bynes has turned from poking fun at her random Twitter behavior and wacky wigs to something much more serious now that she’s been hospitalized. But more than simply chiding onlookers, Cannon extended himself to his former castmate.

“We all end up alone in that dark hole at some point in our lives and if you don’t have a foundation of friends and family to help bring you up and out it makes that journey long and detrimental,” he wrote.

“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.”

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