After causing a lot of stir in the tabloids, Amanda Bynes, who has repeatedly been called mentally disturbed, a drug addict and a drunk by several publications, gets defense from longtime friend Nick Cannon.

Cannon, whose divorce with Mariah Carey is a big issue on the tabloids these days as well, was interviewed by HuffPost Live's Ricky Camilleri.

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In the interview, Cannon shared that he and Amanda Bynes have been keeping in touch through text messaging.

Cannon spoke at length about his concern for Bynes who he considers family. He said that she was currently struggling with mental illness, and it would do no good for her to be treated so harshly by the media.

"If this was a person who was in a mental hospital, would you do the same thing? But just because she's someone that is a public figure, we feel like it's fun to [make fun of her]," he said.

"But no, this is someone who needs help, and rightly so, she was getting help. And I'm pretty sure she'll continue to get help again. It's things you have to deal with your entire life," Cannon said.

He continues that he spoke about his friend's condition before because he thinks that people do not understand Bynes, and that it became a circus because her erratic behavior could easily be manipulated into something else by the media.

Like the amazing friend he is to Bynes, Cannon said that he understands her struggle. He said it is not easy to deal with problems like that and have the public watch and form an opinion about her.

"My heart goes out to her. I pray for her daily," said Cannon.

TagsNick Cannon, amanda bynes