Amanda Bynes Now Facing Shoplifting Accusation?

It’s been said that there is no such thing as bad press. After a recent shoplifting allegation, Amanda Bynes may want to rethink that.

TMZ is reporting that Bynes has once again ran afoul of the rules and, once again, was able to avoid arrest.

Bynes was nabbed by security guards outside of Barneys on Madison Ave. in New York after she was accused of shoplifting. Law enforcement sources tell us she put on a $200 hat and walked out of the store. Security nabbed her outside.

Bynes was brought back in, where witnesses say she was “acting crazy.” 4 NYPD officers arrived on scene to question her about the alleged shoplifting but security had already let her go.

One source says Bynes told security guards she was being chased by fans inside Barneys so she grabbed the cap to cover her face. She said she had no intention of stealing anything, so they let her go. Barneys made her sign a no-trespass agreement banning her from re-entering the store before she left.

This starts a string of bizarre stories involving Bynes. After a relatively quiet 2014, she made headlines again when she was arrested for driving under the influence at the end of September. Bynes had reportedly been living on her own for three months and was no longer living with her parents under their conservatorship. After the arrest, Bynes returned to New York City and claimed that she was transferring to NYU or Colombia to study fashion, according to Popcrush.

The Daily Mail is reporting that shoplifting suspect Bynes was chain smoking, flashing passersby and even covertly removing her bra in public before the shoplifting incident. Further, when confronted about shoplifting the $200 hat, Bynes gave the “hiding from fans chasing her” story as well as also saying she wanted to buy the hat but had to go outside to her car and get her wallet and was not shoplifting.

Having been in New York less than a week, the shoplifting suspect has been seen talking to herself and wearing a bandaid after an alleged altercation with another woman at a nightclub.

In Oct. 2013, it was reported that Bynes was being treated for bipolar depression and/or schizophrenia, but her mother would later claim that her daughter had no mental illness and that her problems were a result of being addicted to marijuana.

There is no word on whether or not the hat was eventually purchased.

[Image courtesy of I Know Today]