"Not psychic - she just was paying attention!": Perez Hilton reacts to Family Dollar store collapsing just a day after woman’s eerie warning

Podcaster Perez Hilton reacted to the shocking collapse of a Family Dollar store in Kansas City, Missouri, just one day after a local woman issued an eerie warning. On August 25, 2025, Hilton shared a post on X dismissing the idea of psychic ability.

"She’s not psychic – she just was paying attention!" he wrote in the caption.

Perez

@ThePerezHilton

She's not psychic - she just was paying attention!

In an article linked to his post, Hilton detailed the sequence of events involving the collapse. He explained that the Family Dollar store, located on Broadway Boulevard in Missouri City, “partially collapsed” on July 27, 2025, at around 2:45 p.m.

He further detailed that the Kansas City Fire Department quickly responded to the emergency. However, they discovered that both employees and customers were inside the building at the time.

"They quickly determined two people were hurt — a 50-year-old woman was critically injured, and heartbreakingly, a 68-year-old man identified as Larry Banks who was pronounced dead at the scene," he further added.

Hilton described the incident as horrifying, but said it “wasn’t unexpected by people in the neighborhood” who believed the store to be unsafe. As part of his coverage, Perez Hilton highlighted the unsettling account of a woman who claimed she had anticipated the disaster.

That woman, identified as Noah Banks, told local outlet KMBC on July 28, 2025, that she had been closely monitoring the deteriorating condition of the building from her apartment across the street.

Hilton further stated that, as per the KMBC report, Banks had “warned people just ONE DAY before the disaster” happened. Rather, she insisted she believed the store was about to fall. In texts obtained and shared by KMBC, Noah Banks sent a photo of the building to her loved ones with the message:

"I’ve been watching this for quite awhile now, please be careful the next time you go to family dollar ; it’s falling."

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What else did Perez Hilton say about the Family Dollar store that collapsed?

Family Dollar store collapses in Kansas City (Image via Getty Images)

Perez Hilton weighed in on the tragic Family Dollar store collapse in Kansas City. He cited reports from multiple outlets, drawing attention to what he described as an “alleged oversight.”

The podcaster first referenced the July 28, 2025, KMBC report. This report highlighted the words of Noah Banks, who broke down while speaking about the victims. Banks believed that the Family Dollar store collapse could have been avoided if city officials and store management had acted sooner.

"I believe that man did not have to lose his life because they were aware of it. That lady did not have to suffer trauma the way she did if preventative measures were taken," Perez Hilton added, citing what Banks had said.

Hilton also added how Banks had shared that her faith led her to warn her community. She told The Kansas City Star (in their July 28 report) that in the days leading up to the collapse, she felt a spiritual push to “warn as many people as possible.”

The aforementioned KMBC report also revealed that nearly nine years earlier, in October 2016, a car had crashed into the Family Dollar store’s entrance, damaging a key support beam. Despite multiple city inspections since then, none had focused on structural issues.

Referring to this information, Perez Hilton remarked:

"The inspector had come by for an issue with ‘trash problems’ — a heartbreaking oversight. If only they’d caught on to the problem then."

Family Dollar store collapses in Kansas City (Image via Getty Images)

In his website article, Perez Hilton further stressed that Banks was not alone in predicting disaster. He cited testimony from Banks’ friend Cheryl Carson, who told The Kansas City Star that she had received one of Banks’ warning texts. Carson was so alarmed that she visited the store just hours before the collapse to question an employee about the building’s condition.

"When I went in there, I talked to the lady at the counter. . .And I said, ‘Aren’t you guys scared about what’s getting ready to happen?’ I said, ‘This building looks like it’s getting ready to fall down.’ She said, ‘I know, you’re not the only one who has said something about that,'"Hilton added, citing Carson’s account.

According to Hilton, the same employee allegedly admitted their manager was aware of the problem but chose to delay action, prioritizing other maintenance issues such as air conditioning. To Hilton, this amounted to yet another oversight that paved the way for tragedy.

The podcaster further reported that after the Family Dollar store collapse incident, both the building’s owner, Arthur Fels Company, and Family Dollar had released statements expressing sympathy for the victims. Additionally, the Family Dollar store pledged to conduct wellness checks on employees and provide resources while undertaking its own investigation.

Perez Hilton also reported that a spokesperson for the city of Kansas City had issued a statement to People Magazine, expressing sorrow over the loss of life. They confirmed that several departments, including Public Works, City Planning, and the Fire Department, were actively investigating the collapse.

Hilton closed his website article by stressing that the entire ordeal appeared tragically preventable.

"Such a horrible situation. We hope justice comes for the victims. Especially since it all just sounded so avoidable… That’s what Banks is hoping for, too…Our heart goes out to the victims and their loved ones. May they get clear answers soon," Perez Hilton wrote.

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According to People magazine’s July 29 report, officials have not disclosed the cause of the partial collapse of the Family Dollar Store as yet. Additionally, in an email to the outlet, officials confirmed that the investigation was still open and that detectives would continue working with prosecutors to determine whether any charges might be filed.