Entertainment

A Step Forward For Amanda Bynes?

by Alanna Bennett

It's been a while since we've heard any developments from the camp of trouble former child star Amanda Bynes. This new one's an interesting one, though: A judge has ruled Bynes psychologically fit to stand trial for her DUI. Which...baby steps? We guess?

Look, this whole Amanda Bynes business is a messy one. She's a former child star going through a rough time, which means there's no way people are gonna stop writing about her (it's what gets clicks). At the same time, though, watching Bynes go through her rough time isn't the same as watching Miley Cyrus — it's clear, for the most part, that Cyrus is in control of her own destiny (or at least her own career/life) at this point, whereas the opposite is true of Bynes.

When you're dealing with mental illness — which is what all the signs are pointing to with giant twisted neon, though we obviously can't know the extent or truth to things without actually getting close to Bynes herself — it's hard to see another headline in the saga as a win, especially as the stigma surrounding mental illness and those who suffer from it remains.

Which is why, if Bynes really is mentally fit to stand trial — as the judge ruled — we're really damn genuinely happy for her. Whether this means that treatment's been working, that rumors of her mental instability were all chalked up in the first place, or that a judge just isn't buying her lawyers' game is hard to discern, but we genuinely hope it's one of the first two.

That Bynes' moment of being declared mentally competent is just so she can then go to trial for a DUI? Well, that just plain sucks.