Former “Gossip Girl” actress Chanel Maya Banks is facing allegations that she orchestrated her own disappearance to revive her declining acting career, according to a private investigator hired by her family.
Private detective Sonny Elliott, who was retained by Banks’ mother Lutchmin Judy Kumar after reporting her daughter missing on October 30, claims the actress’s recent disappearance and subsequent reappearance in Texas was an elaborate publicity stunt. When Banks was found on November 11, her family claimed she was an imposter.
“Unless Judy and Chanel’s cousin Danielle are the greatest actors on Earth, then this is clearly a woman trying to save an acting career that ended during the Obama administration,” Elliott told TMZ, referring to Kumar and Banks’ cousin, Danielle-Tori Singh.
The situation has escalated into legal action, with Banks filing a civil harassment restraining order against her mother and cousin on December 23. In her filing, Banks alleges they “orchestrated this scheme in order to humiliate me publicly and ruin my professional acting career.”
Banks further claims her relatives broke into her apartment in November, stealing her husband’s work badge and placing a tracking device on her car. She also alleges they physically assaulted her husband, causing “visible injuries on his face and neck,” and attempted to place her under a 5150 psychiatric hold, threatening to “weaponize the police” against her.
Elliott disputes Banks’ version of events, pointing to her decision to block her family on social media and phone as contradicting her harassment claims. The private investigator suggests Banks initially traveled to Texas to write about a religious cult but became involved with it instead. Banks maintains she went there to be baptized by her favorite pastor.
“This is all for the last 15 minutes of fame,” Danielle-Tori Singh told reporters. “We now believe she wants publicity, maybe hoping to bring more people to the ‘church’ or high control group, aka a cult.”
The investigation continues as Elliott maintains the family hired him out of genuine concern, while suggesting Banks’ reactions point to a calculated publicity effort.
The post Chanel Maya Banks Accused of Staging Disappearance as Publicity Stunt appeared first on Where Is The Buzz | Breaking News, Entertainment, Exclusive Interviews & More.
