Gossip Girl Actress Chanel Banks Blasts Claims She Was Missing – And Makes Explosive Abuse Allegations Against Family

This story may have more twists and turns than an actual episode of Gossip Girl.

Here is the deal: Chanel Banks, an actress who appeared on the third season of the beloved television show, made headlines last week after her family reported her missing on November 8. In a since-deleted GoFundMe page, her cousin Danielle-Tori Singh claimed loved ones had not seen or heard from the 36-year-old since October 30.

Related: Missing Man Found Dead In Planet Fitness Tanning Bed After 3 DAYS!

A few days later, Chanel still had not contacted anyone, and no one could get in touch with her. Her family became very concerned as this was out of the norm for the Blue Bloods alum. Singh, who flew from Toronto to Los Angeles to help search for Chanel, told KABC earlier this week:

“Five days without hearing from my cousin is red flags and alarm bells. She doesn’t go more than 48 hours without speaking to me or her mom. … That girl is more like a big sister to me.”

According to the outlet, law enforcement conducted welfare checks at her home — but Chanel was not there. Her family said they entered the apartment where she was living with her husband of one year Carlos Jimenez and found her belongings and dog still there. But no Chanel. On Tuesday, Singh claimed the husband was not cooperating with the family or police, further raising alarm bells for the family:

“He’s not willing to help LAPD. He’s not willing to help me or her mom find her. He is removing flyers off of posts and cars. I can tell you in my soul, in my gut, something is not right. We’re crossing two weeks now without a word, without a sound. Nothing.”

Fans were scared, too. We’ve heard stories start like this too many times. But get ready for a massive plot twist…

The following day, it came out that Chanel was found safe on November 11 in Texas! Whoa, what! Why did it take three days for this to come out? No one has explained that glaring issue. Instead, Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson Charles Miller just said:

“She is fine. No danger. She is OK. She has been taken out of the missing person system for us and we have closed our investigation.”

Phew! What a relief, right? However, the family wasn’t convinced everything was alright. Despite authorities saying they found Chanel alive and well, they called it “fake news” — and declared they still thought she was missing! Even when shown body camera footage of the actress by Texas police, they said it wasn’t her. Singh said on Wednesday:

“What I saw was a woman who did not look like my cousin. She was much skinnier, the woman in the body camera footage. She was wearing things that my cousin would not normally wear and her voice was different. Her accent was different.”

Her accent was wrong??

Hmm…

Watch the press conference (below):

Well, guess what? Chanel is not missing! In fact, she says she never was! What?!

According to a post on her account’s Instagram Stories, she explained she willingly went to Texas on her own volition to get baptized and “escape my cage.” What does she mean by that? She shared that she was “finally free” of her mother, Judy Kumar, and her family after years of suffering abuse at their hands! OMG. What.

She explained in a lengthy post:

“My name is Chanel Banks I’m a 36 year old American nobody, and for my entire life I have been silently carrying the pain of the ritual … abuse, manipulation, and outright endless torment I’ve endured continuously since I was a defenseless baby, at the hands of my own so called family, whom are all so very ‘concerned’ about my current whereabouts.”

Chanel went on to claim Singh is “fame-hungry” and lied about how close they were, saying they have not talked in more than 15 years. What’s even more shocking? She accused her family AND her husband’s family of attempting to put her in a conservatorship. What the f**k? Check out her entire post (below):

(c) Chanel Banks/Instagram

(c) Chanel Banks/Instagram

FYI, Jimenez denied the conservatorship accusation to The Los Angeles Times. However, he did say that before Chanel left for Texas, she accused her family of abuse. But not him. She did make clear to the outlet that her husband never hurt her.

And if anyone still does not believe Chanel is alive and well, like her family? Here is more proof. She posted a video to social media on Friday, reiterating she is “alive.” She also teased that an interview is coming. Watch (below):

We guess everyone should prepare for more to come out about what happened — and what she has been dealing with when it comes to her family. Speaking of which, that video apparently did the trick. They’re finally calling off the search — and dropping some jaw-dropping accusations of their own.

Per KABC, Singh said she and her family are glad to know Chanel is alive. That said, the cousin thinks she is “not well” and may even be in a “cult” now:

“We know how these things go. This is not the first time a woman has gone missing in L.A. and saying, ‘Don’t contact me,’ and the parents lose her, and they find they have to hire a private investigator. Chanel is not the first person to have gone through this. We know how these things go. We know she’s a part of a cult. We know this organized group is not allowing her phone because of all the things that have been written on social media without the facial recognition … there’s so many holes in that story.”

We really hope Chanel isn’t in a “cult,” as her family is claiming. But Singh is right about that story being all too common… She continued:

“All we wanted from the beginning, and we said this time and time again, was proof of life. I am satisfied that she is alive based on that YouTube video from the church retreat … she’s alive. She may not be well. We don’t know if they’re letting her move around. We don’t know if she’s constantly under surveillance but she has said in several posts that this retreat is about getting closer to God and not having technology.”

At this time, Chanel has not reacted to the cult allegations. But considering she’s coming out with an interview soon, could we expect her response then? We’ll wait and see.

What a wild situation! Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments.

[Image via Chanel Banks/Instagram, Gossip Girl/Warner Bros. Entertainment]