These Amanda Bynes Rumors Keep Getting Worse

If you're on Amanda Bynes Watch — or trying to pretend you're not on Amanda Bynes Watch — you might have noticed, as I did, that there has been absolutely no slowing in the steady stream of stories about her and her wild behavior. Bynes told her fans on Twitter not to believe the rumors, but the truth is that she's never been more popular than when the tabloids are convinced she's on another downward spiral. The latest allegations of her behavior just got violent. Apparently, Bynes might have attacked a fan at a club, though the woman is a big enough fan not to press charges.

The rumor comes, as rumors often do, from TMZ, who had pictures of scratched body parts, presumably belonging to the woman, as well as the details of the tale. Bynes allegedly showed up alone at an event at the Gilded Lily night club on Monday when people began taking photos of her while she was dancing by herself. She became upset and finally spun on one woman "violently, scratching her neck and arms." From the pictures, it's safe to say that Bynes didn't break the skin, though she did leave grooves that look like impressions of her fingernails.

However, the TMZ rumor already conflicts with another rumor about Bynes that came out this week. According to E! Online, Bynes spent her Monday night at the Gilded Lily as part of a surprise appearance at Nylon magazine's It Girl Prom. They said that she was with friends, not alone, and when people were taking pictures, she ran up to them to ask them to stop. About the only thing the E! Online report and TMZ's latest rumor have in common is the fact that Bynes was wearing sunglasses indoors. Otherwise, who knows what to believe?

To be fair, I have to confess to being Team Amanda Bynes through all of this. I haven't seen her in New York City with my own eyes, but the stories about her are so varied, so contradictory, so wild after months of good behavior, that I'm inclined to believe that they're all exaggerated or made up by sources who want to say they've seen the signs. And even if there is a small bit of truth to every story that comes out about Bynes, shouldn't we be focusing more on hoping that she gets the help she needs than we are on recording every individual instance of strange behavior?

Bynes herself stated that she was interested in going to school in New York — and that she's allegedly engaged to someone who lives in the state — so can we shift the focus to that instead? Why is Bynes only of interest to the world when we think she's messing up? When she can have months of healthy recovery with hardly a peep about her in the tabloids to having a new rumor about her being "crazy" coming out every day — that's when we know that there's something wrong with the way we report on celebrity culture. Bynes should have gotten equal press attention to celebrating her health as she's currently getting to watch her alleged downward spiral.