Amanda Bynes Debuts Colorful Hairdo Amid Drake Bell Nickelodeon Allegations

Amanda Bynes surfaced for the first time in public following Drake Bell's child molestation claims against a former professional mentor ... and she's got quite the new look.

The ex-Nickelodeon child star emerged Friday for the first time since her former 'Amanda Show' costar set the stage to level some serious allegations against Brian Peck, in a new documentary that'll air his story for the first time ever.

People have wondered whether Amanda herself would be part of this doc -- "Quiet on Set" -- since it touches on a lot of former child stars during Nickelodeon's heyday ... which is why this sighting of her out and about in L.A. is so interesting.

As you can see ... Amanda's sporting a colorful hairdo here -- namely, blonde on top with blue extensions. It's certainly a unique style -- and kinda in line with how she's rockin' lately.

Amanda has obviously been out of the spotlight for years now -- although these days, she's shown signs of putting herself out there again ... through podcasts and other ventures. Of course, with this Nickelodeon doc coming out ... many have wondered if she'd come forward to make allegations of her own, but so far -- there's no indication she's set to speak out.

Drake, on the other hand, is prepared to break his silence ... which is huge in itself.

Remember, he starred on "The Amanda Show" from 1999 to 2002 before getting his own Nickelodeon show in 2004 ... and he's among the former child stars who are going to speak out in the doc.

The network says Drake will make claims against Peck, who worked on "The Amanda Show" and "Drake & Josh" as a dialogue coach.

Peck pled no contest in 2004 to performing a lewd act with a 14- or 15-year-old and to oral copulation with a minor under 16 ... and when the doc comes out later this month, Drake is expected to allege he was one of Peck's victims from that case.

Drake remained anonymous for decades ... but now he, and others, are speaking out about the bad things that allegedly happened during their Nickelodeon days.

Peck's worked on countless children's shows through the years -- including Amanda's, BTW -- and recently, some "Boy Meets World" stars said in hindsight they regret their affiliation with him back in the day. Yes, he was hobnobbing with kid actors in those days too.

Amanda's been mum on the whole subject thus far ... and it's unclear what message she's trying to send with this fashion statement, if any.