Sarah Michelle Gellar reacts to family whose ‘lives were saved during tornado’ by Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Sarah Michelle Gellar has responded to a man who claims that watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer saved his family’s lives during a tornado.

The story was first shared in a TikTok video from user @SloppyJoey17.

“Hey Dad, do you remember the time Buffy the Vampire Slayer saved all our lives?” the social media creator is seen asking at the start of the video.

The camera then pans to his father, who recalls the incident, which seemingly dates back to when Buffy was first airing (1997 to 2003).

“Well, the series finale was coming on,” he says, “and I wasn’t gonna miss it. There were sirens going off, f***ing tornado, blah blah blah. Your mama was so scared, so she got all y’all kids and all the f***ing neighbours go down in the storm cellar. But I said ‘f*** it’, I’m watching Buffy.

“So I watch Buffy. And about three hours later, after Angel goes off, and all that bulls***, I’m looking for y’all. And y’all are nowhere around. So I go out back and hear y’all in the storm cellar, screaming for somebody to let you out. And that big old oak tree had fallen on top of the door and trapped y’all inside.”

He continued: “So if I was inside that f***ing cellar with y’all, we’d have all been dead.”

The man’s son then adds that they “owe their lives to Sarah Michelle Gellar”.

Gellar, who played the demon-slaying hero of the hit WB series, shared the video on her Instagram account.

Alongside it, she wrote the message: “You don’t owe me anything.”

You can read The Independent’s recent full-length interview with Gellar here, in which the actor discusses Buffy, sexism and her return to TV.