At the risk of getting sued by the subject of this article, we’d like to report on an unusual statement made by retired actress Amanda Bynes. The former child star has announced her intention to sue every newspaper, blog, website, and gossip column that has criticized the “erratic behavior” she has exhibited over the last year. The list of defendants named in any such lawsuit would undoubtedly be more than 140, which is the number of characters allowed by Twitter, the social media service through which she made the announcement.
This particular announcement was much more than 140 characters, however. (Bynes utilized a service which allows Tweeters to create lengthier posts on the site.) Her message, which specifically named In Touch, Us Weekly, and Perez Hilton, announces her intention to sue and criticizes the publications for using unflattering photos of her to illustrate their stories.
“I’m suing every blog, magazine, every news source that’s saying I’m doing anything wrong “erratic behavior” is not me!” said the statement. “They say I have erratic behavior when I do NOTHING wrong. There’s NOTHING with my life, other than you putting up awful candid photo after photo. I’m working out, it’s hard getting in shape with an eating disorder. Please follow me on twitter then look forward to be sued if you say I have erratic behavior or am living my life wrong in anyway.”
The extended Twitter message also attempted some role reversal tactics as she asked gossip columnist Perez Hilton how he would like having unflattering photos of him posted regularly to the internet. Subsequent tweets have used foul language to ask Hilton to stop posting photos of her, claim that she has no contact with her parents, and refute the fact the her so-called friends have her best interests in mind.
She also used her Twitter feed to request that all photos of her used to accompany articles come directly from the photos she posts on her Twitter feed. She posts a substantial amount of photos on her Twitter feed, few of which are appropriate for a news article, and compliments those publications that do use her photos.
In the last year, Bynes has been involved in several hit-and-run car accidents, moved across the country frequently, given several unusual interviews, and dedicated herself to posting oddly-cropped self-shots and inappropriate comments on Twitter. This type of behavior may or may not qualify as “erratic” but it is certainly somewhat unusual, and has attracted the attention of both gossip writers and the paparazzi.
Image credit: Twitter