By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-15 21:02:44 | Updated at 2024-11-23 01:33:55
1 week ago
Gossip Girl star Chanel Banks proved she isn't missing in dramatic fashion by sharing a YouTube video teasing an upcoming tell-all interview on her 'toxic' family.
The actress, 36, was reported missing earlier this month by her family after they claimed they hadn't heard from her in two weeks, before she was found safe in Texas on Monday.
When she was discovered, Banks said she was fleeing her family to be baptized by doomsday Pastor Robert Clancey, who had recently advertised a three-day 'end times prophetic gathering' in Texas.
She previously said she wasn't missing in a since-deleted Instagram post and said she was 'finally free', but her family bizarrely claimed she was being imitated by an imposter.
In an apparent attempt to disprove the claims, Banks shared a YouTube reel of herself preparing to speak about the strange saga, telling fans: 'As you can see, I am alive.'
'Interview loading,' she added while gazing at the camera in a full face of makeup.
Banks also updated her Instagram bio to say: 'I AM NOT MISSING. I just want to be free of a toxic woman and her family. INTERVIEW INCOMING.'
Gossip Girl star Chanel Banks proved she isn't missing in dramatic fashion by sharing a YouTube video teasing an upcoming expose on her family
The actress, 36, was reported missing earlier this month by her family after they claimed they hadn't heard from her in two weeks, before she was found in Texas on Monday and she insisted she was never missing but 'escaping' her 'toxic' family
Banks did not say when the tell-all interview will be released or on what platform she will share it on.
The actress, also known as a star of Blue Bloods, was reported missing by her mother and cousin after she didn't show up during a welfare check on her apartment. It is not clear who the 'toxic woman' who Banks references is.
Banks' husband, whose identity is not clear, also reportedly told police that his wife did not want to be found, and police confirmed that Banks was unharmed when she turned up in Texas.
In her Instagram story the same day she shared the interview tease, Banks issued a scathing rebuke of her family and listed her reasons for releasing an expose, including allegedly posting her personal cell phone number, birthday and address publicly.
She also claimed her family 'literally stood outside of my house to lie to the press after breaking into my home', and 'ignoring the police literally telling them to leave me alone.'
Her family also allegedly embezzled money 'for a fraudulent and since closed GoFundMe', 'plastered my neighborhood with missing posters when I never went missing', and 'completely blowing up my life' by contacting her peers.
'I figure you can all see why I had to get away from these bottom-dwelling scammers,' she wrote.
Banks was reported missing by her mother and cousin (pictured at a press conference soon after) when the actress didn't show up during a welfare check on her apartment
In her Instagram story the same day she shared the interview tease, Banks issued a scathing rebuke of her family and listed her reasons for releasing an expose, including allegedly posting her personal cell phone number, birthday and address publicly
After sharing her YouTube clip teasing an interview, Banks went on to share another cryptic Instagram post preparing for the clip, alongside an image of Jesus with a heartbreak emoji
She offered a similarly scathing take on her deleted Instagram post, as Banks explained that she was never missing, but didn't tell her family she was leaving because she was looking for an 'opportunity to escape.'
'I have met with the police and verified that not only am I OK, but I’m finally free,' she wrote.
'They say once, you’re free in Christ Jesus, you’re free indeed, so I told my husband six days ago I was going to get baptized by one of my favorite pastors Pastor Robert Clancy.'
After sharing her YouTube clip teasing an interview, Banks went on to share another Instagram post giving fans a behind the scenes look, captioned: 'I heard you were looking for me, now what?'
The actress included several other images of her preparing for the interview, and a cryptic image of Jesus with a heartbreak emoji.
Banks' efforts to prove she was still very much alive come after her cousin Danielle-Tori Singh publicly cast doubt on whether the 'Chanel' police found in Texas was actually the actress, and not an imposter.
When she was discovered, Banks said she was fleeing her 'toxic' family to be baptized by doomsday Pastor Robert Clancey, who had recently advertised a three-day 'end times prophetic gathering'
Banks is best known for her stints on Gossip Girl (pictured center) and Blue Bloods
Singh said an LAPD update on Banks' whereabouts was 'fake news' and insisted to ABC7 that she would continue posting 'missing persons' flyers.
'I have the still from Texas PD body cam footage that was shown to us on Monday Nov 11 at the Pacific Police Station in LA,' Singh added in an Instagram story.
'This is the woman they’re telling us is Chanel. We have told them this is not Chanel. They didn’t listen to us and closed the case.'
Singh then appeared to prompt Banks' YouTube video by adding in her post: 'That’s why @ohhheychanel won’t post a video saying she’s safe because it’s not Chanel.'
The odd back-and-forth between Banks and her cousin continued as Singh told ABC7 the actress 'doesn’t go more than 48 hours without speaking to me or her mom…That girl is more like a big sister to me.'
Banks went on to claim in her Instagram post that she had not spoken to her cousin, who lives in Canada but flew to the US to aid the search, for 'over 15 years.'
