Cissy Houston wasn't the only one penning an open letter on Wednesday. Nick Cannon, host of "America's Got Talent," released his own screed — but this one directed at his "sister," Amanda Bynes, asking her to "Call me!"
Cannon and Bynes appeared together on Nickelodeon's "All That" in the 1990s, and it's clear he still has some affection for the actress, who has recently gotten into a number of bizarre incidents, some of which involved run-ins with the law. (On July 23 she was detained for a mental health evaluation in Los Angeles after she reportedly sparked a fire in a residential driveway.)
The note does start out directly referring to Bynes, whose actions have apparently prompted a number of people to ask Cannon what is going on with her. "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," he writes.
But after she was taken in for a psychiatric evaluation, he said he could no longer brush off those questions with a "playful humorous manner." His note then turns more general (and yet somehow more personal; Cannon clearly knows of what he speaks) as he tries to explain the process by which a young person can get lost once the entertainment industry spotlight fades after an initial brush with fame.
"Imagine your parents, teachers, and employers NEVER telling you NO," he writes (emphasis is Cannon's). "Anything you ask for or want, the world gives you, at some point you are bound to self-destruct. I call this 'access to excess'. I’ve seen it happen to many of my friends and colleagues young and old.... 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."
Someone who becomes that kind of victim, he adds, can end up under a different kind of public and media scrutiny, which is another issue. "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," he writes.
He ends by circling back around to Bynes, telling her "you're not alone. I'm here for you. I understand. I care and appreciate you, because that’s what family does and that’s what family is for.... 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."
Bynes has not yet responded on Twitter to the note.
To read the full note, click here.