Amanda Bynes has been involved with a tough journey over the past few months, working hard to get her life back on track after a dark battle with her mental health. The star has been in medical care since July and, after months of treatment and psychological evaluation, sources say she’ll be making the transition back home under the care of her mother, Lynne Bynes. While this information is not new, we just received some juicy info regarding Amanda’s dark journey and the behind-the-scenes work that secured her successful rehabilitation.
A source connected to Amanda’s treatment contacted us and revealed that the extensive media coverage surrounding Amanda’s hospitalization — particularly the details that surfaced while she was a hospital resident — was an elaborate PR scheme to get the judge to extend Amanda’s psychiatric hold. This was all in attempts to secure Amanda with the best possible care and future, especially since Amanda, at the time, was still in control of her life — in a legal sense.
The source told us that, shortly after Amanda Bynes was arrested in Los Angeles for setting fire to a driveway, information was intentionally leaked by Hollywood publicists regarding her treatment from within the hospital. Because the psychiatric hold she was placed under could only, by law, last for 72 hours, the Bynes family wanted to secure Amanda’s safety by getting any information out that could potentially sway the judge’s decision to extend the psychiatric hold. They wanted this to happen — so they could be sure Amanda would get the help she needed.
It was reported that crisis manager Hunter Frederick was hired to help manage the media fallout immediately after Bynes’ arrest. The source goes into detail about about how Frederick and his firm, Frederick & Associates, twisted the arm of Hollywood media in order to secure Amanda’s extended stay in the hospital.
“He sent out a statement to media stating he was the contact for Amanda Bynes,” the source says. “Within 24-hours Frederick returned phone calls and emails with specific information regrading Amanda’s treatment including the type of medication she was on. These outlets would validate this information through other sources and then print it. The hope was this would influence the judge in the decision to extended Amanda’s stay. It worked”
Frederick has been called by some as the “Zookeeper of Hollywood” for the types of clients he represents. CDL reached out to Frederick for a comment on this story. He responded with a great statement about why it’s so important there are specialists in the field who dedicate their PR work to helping celebs get back on track:
“I sometimes get a lot of flack from other Hollywood professionals regarding the types of clients I work with. I did not start my company to create $100,000 gift bags to be handed out to wealthy celebrities after red carpet events. I started my company to help those who slip into bed with the devil and play too hard. I serve the broken; if I don’t — if don’t step up to be their advocates — I’m not sure who else in the industry will.”
Image credit to FameFlynet