Channing Tatum Reacts to ‘She’s the Man’ Co-Star Amanda Bynes’ Comeback Interview

Channing Tatum has a special place in his heart for Amanda Bynes.

The pair starred alongside each other on 2006 rom-com, She’s The Man, a role that Bynes, in a comeback interview with Paper Magazine, said Tatum got in large part due to her. According to Tatum, she isn’t entirely wrong, and he has her to thank for helping jumpstart his career.

“I love her,” Tatum said of Bynes while speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the premiere of Magic Mike Live in London. “I guess she sort of told me [that she fought to get me in the movie]. I love her.”

In her interview, published Monday, Bynes opened up about the breakthrough movie for Tatum. Prior to landing his role in She’s The Man, Tatum’s credits had only included a Mountain Dew commercial and smaller film roles. After his debut in the rom-com, he went on to star in Step Up just months later, which soon led to a host of other roles in major films.

“I totally fought for Channing [to get cast in] that movie because he wasn’t famous yet. He’d just done a Mountain Dew commercial and I was like, ‘This guy’s a star — every girl will love him,’” she said. “But [the producers] were like, ‘He’s so much older than all of you!’ And I was like, ‘It doesn’t matter! Trust me!’”

While Tatum couldn’t give full credit to Bynes, stating “I don’t know about all that,” he recalled their time together on the film and her performance.

“She was just so alive,” he said. “You never knew what was going to come out of her mouth, she was just on fire… I haven’t seen her in so long. I love you, Amanda, and I hope you’re doing well.”

He went on to praise her for the interview and her comeback, reiterating his affection for her.

“[And] I just hope she’s doing well,” he said. “I’m so happy she’s killing it again and just back on the right. She’s so talented and so special. She’s been doing it…I mean, I think it’s so impossible when you start at such a young age to keep perspective. It’s tough.”

Bynes’ interview followed years of her keeping away from the cameras and retirement, she revealed, stemming from continued drug usage and an obsession with her weight that culminated with her appearance in Easy A.

“I literally couldn’t stand my appearance in that movie and I didn’t like my performance. I was absolutely convinced I needed to stop acting after seeing it,” she said, adding that she was “high on marijuana” when she saw the film, which eventually led her to posting the tweet announcing her retirement.

In the interview, Bynes also revealed that she is prepared to come out of retirement and ready to re-enter the business slowly but surely.