Nick Cannon and Amanda Bynes started their careers together on the Nickelodeon show All That, but ended up in very different places. Now, Cannon has penned an open letter to his troubled former co-star, offering her support and encouragement.
In the letter, posted to Tumblr, Cannon refers to Bynes as his "sister," and says she is "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."
While Bynes' increasingly bizarre behavior — including strange tweets about Drake, Kid Cudi and Rihanna — has made her the butt of many jokes, Cannon says, "after recent events of Amanda being admitted under psychiatric care and reported as 5150 [involuntary hold], I see this as no laughing matter."

He continues, "I tweeted a few weeks [ago] about how the entertainment industry just consumes people and spits them out like flavorless bubblegum. A few chews of enjoyment, then they're under a city bus bench."

"Don't get me wrong; this is not a pity for the popular statement," Cannon clarifies. "I am always the first to say that fame and entertainment is one of the best and easiest occupations to ever have, but one must know how to navigate through the matrix or you may find yourself in a very dark hole."

The actor and entrepreneur goes on to warn against the dangers of excess in Hollywood, and ends on a sympathetic note. "We all end up alone in that dark hole at some point in our lives, and if you don't have a foundation of friends and family to help bring you up and out, it makes that journey long and detrimental," he continues. "So I say to my sister Amanda Bynes, you're not alone. I'm here for you. I understand. I care and I appreciate you, because that's what family does and that's what family is for."
Hopefully, Cannon's note will reach Bynes and she'll take him up on his offer.
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(Photos from left:  Steven Hirsch/ Splash News, PacificCoastNews.com)