Kenan Thompson Reveals Last Time He Spoke to Amanda Bynes After Writing About Her In His Book

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Kenan Thompson Reveals Last Time He Spoke to Amanda Bynes After Writing About Her In His Book

Kenan Thompson opened up about his relationship with Amanda Bynes.

As child stars, the actors appeared on All That together, and they both had successful careers working with Nickelodeon throughout their youth.

He wrote about Amanda in his memoir When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice From a Professional Clown. During a recent interview, Kenan, 45, revealed the last time that he and Amanda, 37, had been in touch and where they stand in 2024.

Read more for the latest about Amanda Bynes and Kenan Thompson…

While on the Tamron Hall Show, Kenan explained that he and Amanda hadn’t spoken in years.

“I unfortunately haven’t spoken to Amanda since she was really, really young,” he explained. “Like when she was doing her first movies. I think the soccer movie [She's the Man] was around that time, was the last time I actually saw her. I’m just rooting for her from afar.”

During the interview, a snippet of Kenan‘s memoir was read: “She was like all of our little sister, and we were all very protective of her,” he wrote about his former costar. “Amanda was the sweetest, happiest girl, and she loved to laugh.”

“She was an explosion of bright innocence and joy,” he added.

Kenan also described Amanda as “adorable,” saying that she “had a ginormous range of talent,” via EW. “She was the best, man; we were very close.”

“She was funny whether the cameras were rolling or not. She was an old soul, it was almost like she’d made the decision at that young of an age to be the next Carol Burnett. I remember she was so knowledgeable about Lucille Ball’s comedy style. I connected with her because she was laser-focused like me and had a very sweet, supportive family, too,” he added. “Unfortunately, some leeches sent her down a dark path. When she went left for a little while, we all were sad. I cared about her, and I still do. She’s good people.”

Kenan also recently reflected on how the Nickelodeon docuseries Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. Speaking of, find out why Amanda turned down an offer to appear in the series.