Amanda Bynes Movie Gets Peace-Nicked

By Stephen M. Silverman

Wednesday April 02, 2003 11:00 AM EST

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Amanda Bynes's movie studio doesn't want to give peace a chance.

Print ads for the new teen comedy "What a Girl Wants," about a young American girl who goes to England to find her absent father, originally featured a photo of the star sporting a tank top with an American flag on it and flashing the peace sign as she stands between two British royal guards.

But with war in Iraq sparking anti-war protests in America and England, as well as in various other parts of the world, Warner Bros. decided to alter the ad, the Associated Press reports. The studio reportedly feared that the peace sign would be interpreted as a political message. (Warners, like PEOPLE, is part of AOL Time Warner.)

New versions of the ad now feature Bynes with her right hand on her hip. The previous version of the ad, however, does still appear on buses and billboards throughout America.

"What a Girl Wants" is just the latest star vehicle for Bynes, who turns 17 on Thursday and is best known for her roles on the WB's "What I Like About You" and Nickelodeon's "All That" and "Amanda Show." (She's also the voice of Taffy on TV's "Rugrats.")

This is the second time this week that the war has forced some people to rethink their marketing plans. Madonna also announced this week that she was scrapping her controversial "American Life" music video out of "sensitivity and respect" for armed forces in Iraq, "who I support and pray for."

The video, which featured her in military garb and lobbing a grenade, "was filmed before the war started, and I do not believe it is appropriate to air it at this time," she added.