Former All That co-star, Nick Cannon, wrote an open letter to Amanda Bynes, which he posted to his blog earlier this week. He articulates his love for Bynes, whom he calls his sister, and his disgust for the media’s coverage of her illness. He explains, with first-hand knowledge, how difficult it can be for child stars to lead normal lives, especially when they feel their fame is on the decline. Below, you can read his open letter in its entirety.
As we all know I do interviews every single day about all my various projects, whether promoting AGT, Wild’N Out, my album, my stand-up special, NCredible consumer products, and various philanthropic and charitable efforts.
What? Nick Cannon, nobody knows that. Literally, not a soul knows that. You were barely even relevant on All That, a show on Nickelodeon, which we all know is the network for teens who couldn’t make it on the Disney Channel. In any case, I suppose congratulations are in order for making something of your career, but I just wanted to be the one to let you know, that not a soul knew what you’d been up to.
Usually during these interviews I am consistently questioned about my wife, my kids, and my health and I happily answer them all. But as of lately I have been 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.
The questions have ranged from, “Have you spoken to Amanda” to “Are you working on her rap album”.
PLEASE tell me you are working on her rap album.
Sometimes I would answer in a playful humorous manner and sometimes I would brush it off as another Pop culture topic that a reporter was trying to retrieve a sound bite for. But after recent events of Amanda being admitted under psychiatric care and reported as 5150, I see this as no laughing matter.
But…it was a laughing matter, right? Like before we knew she was schizophrenic? Because I’ve got to tell you, I got a good laugh when I saw her wig make its first appearance. You know what though, Nick, Imma let you finish, because I have a feeling shit’s about to get real.
I tweeted a few weeks about how the entertainment industry just consumes people and spits them out like flavorless bubblegum. A few chews of enjoyment then they’re under a city bus bench. Don’t get me wrong this is not a pity for the popular statement. I am always the first to say that fame and entertainment is one of the best and easiest occupations to ever have,
Ain’t that the truth. I’m only a z-lister on Twitter, and I still get a kick out of the attention. I’m sorry, go on.
but one must know how to navigate through the matrix or you may find yourself in a very dark hole. When a person is told all of their life that they are awesome, the best, the greatest and they are catered to every moment of the day. Imagine being the breadwinner in your household before you can even drive. Imagine you parents, teachers, and employers NEVER telling you NO. Anything you ask for or want, the world gives you,
Umm, that sounds awesome. I mean, no, you’re right, that sounds terrible. I mean, it doesn’t, but I see where you’re going with this. Keep going. Your grammar is terrible, by the way.
at some point you are bound to self-destruct. I call this “access to excess.”
How linguistically clever. You should include that in Bynes’ rap video!
I’ve seen it happen to many of my friends and colleagues young and old. It goes back to that old saying; “Too much of anything is bad for anyone”. Whether it’s fame, money, sex, drugs, attention. It’s all a dangerous addiction. When there is no balance in your life a person will always become victim to their reality or lack thereof. The question is, when this destruction occurs, who is there to help put back the pieces. What do you do when you have no solid support system? When you feel like your friends are talking behind your back. When you feel like your co-workers are jealous and out to competitively sabotage you. When you feel your family has turned your back on you. When you feel like you parents have a conditional appreciation for you and only really love your money. You find yourself alone in that dark hole.
Shit just got real. But seriously, no access to an editor?
Then you have to rely on your own devices once again in this vulnerable state. You become paranoid, frantic, manic, irrational because you can bounce your thoughts or ideas off of anyone anymore. Your reality no longer allows you to reason with the world, so you try to break through to get back to what you think is common ground. You are either trying to get back “hot” again or just searching for that adulation that you once received daily from the masses.
Looks like somebody just bought a thesaurus.
Then enters the media, or what I like to call the ultimate magnifier. It’s like if you have a delicate piece of tissue under the sun, that tissue is under INTENSE heat with nowhere to escape but once you place a magnifying glass over that tissue, it’s bound to instantly burn up in flames. This is what I believe happens to many people in the public eye and we 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”.
Not even a friend or something just to proofread before it goes live? To be clear, I’ve never been glad I’m not famous.
And most of the time your assumptions and accusations maybe accurate but also inappropriate. No one on this planet needs to be judged or even has the right to judge. We are all equal and we all have our downfalls, fame or no fame. Money or no money. Life is hard for everyone in some since.
*SENSE. That just killed your PR consultant. Killed her.
And we need each other to in times of despair. No one can make it through anything alone. So I ask people who are quick to judge, tweet, report, or comment to ask yourself; what if that person was my sister? My brother? My Mother? Or me? What then would I say?
I’d say, “Amanda, honey, you know I love you, but you’ve GOT to cool it with Twitter. People are talking. It’s not good PR. Let’s deactivate for a little, go to the salon to get your hair figured out, indulge in some fro-yo, and stop by the psych ward. Are you free on Sunday?”
In the words of the great poet and artist Bill Withers, “Sometimes in our lives We all have pain, we all have sorrow”. 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. 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. I also extend this to anyone else in my life, past or present that may find themselves in hard times. I’m here! Call me! Because I truly believe, the hand you’re helping up today may be the one you’re reaching for tomorrow. So not to be all cheesy and over sentimental but I got to end this with the ingenious Wither’s lyrics “Lean on me when you’re not strong and I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on. For it won’t be long until I’ll need somebody to lean on.”
A beautiful, beautiful, horribly written sentiment, Nick. I agree with what you’re saying, and I think it’s really heart-warming that you’ve reached out to your sister (who looks NOTHING like you by the way). However, this message came a little late, but it was heart-warming nonetheless. I enjoyed the insight into the minds of former child stars from the perspective of one, but I am also on a quest to know everything about the human mind, because I’m weird. I do hope Amanda recovers, and I’m anxious to see what becomes of her Twitter feed the young girl once she gets out of the institution. Thank you for your kind words, Cannon. I bet Amanda won’t even call you ugly after reading them.
[via nickcannon.com]
Image via Perez
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Veronica Ruckh
Veronica (@VeronicaRuckh) is the Director of Total Sorority Move for Grandex, Inc. After having spent her undergraduate years drinking $4 double LITs on a patio and drunk texting away potential suitors, she managed to graduate with an impressive GPA and an unimpressive engagement ring -- so unimpressive, in fact, some might say it's not there at all. Veronica has since been fulfilling her duties as "America's big," a title she gave to herself with the help of her giant ego. She has recently switched from vodka to wine on weekdays. Email her at veronica@grandex.co
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