Drake Bell Defends Amanda Bynes, Says She Is ‘Finding Herself’ And Is Not Crazy

Amanda Bynes' former Nickelodeon co-star Drake Bell defended the actress while speaking at Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City this weekend.

Bell, 26, said he has maintained a close friendship with Bynes, 27, and that she is "good" and "healthy," according to OK! Magazine.

"Amanda and I are close," Bell, said. "We worked together for years. I talk to her every day. She's a sweetheart. I had lunch with her yesterday, and she's brilliant. She's good and she's healthy."

His explanation for her irrational behavior, arrests, and Twitter rants was that Bynes is going through a rough patch of self-discovery.

"She's in a place right now where she is searching," Bell said. "She's ready to be her own person, and do her own thing. ... She is a girl who is finding herself."

According to The Huffington Post, Bell said many think Bynes is crazy or has a mental illness because of her drastic change in appearance, including piercings and messy wigs, from the young "The Amanda Show" actress people remember.

"It hurts me and it upsets me, because I look at her and talk to her, and we'll sit down for lunch or dinner, and I'm like 'Amanda, what is going on?' And she's like 'whatever.' She's the same beautiful, funny, artistic, thoughtful person that she's always been, but she decided to change her hairstyle. She got a bad hairdo and shaved her head, so she had to get extensions. Now everyone's like 'oh, you're crazy.' ... I'm like 'dude, you come off crazy.' She's like, 'I know, but I don't mean to. I just changed the way I look!'"

The Huffington Post also reports that Bell is one of the 14 people Bynes follows on Twitter, though she has nearly 2 million followers. Bynes has been in the media for ranting about other celebrities, using the word "ugly" to refer to many singers and actors.

However, Bynes only had kind words for Bell on Twitter.

"@DrakeBell ily bro!" she tweeted 27 May.