Selling Sunset’s Alanna Gold Issues Apology to Residents After Claiming She ‘Owns’ Town

Selling Sunset star Alanna Gold addressed backlash she faced from residents of Pioneertown after she claimed to “own” the town on the Netflix show.

During season 8 of the reality show, Alanna, 32, claimed that she and her husband, Adam Gold , purchased a portion of Pioneertown, which is located in San Bernardino County, California.

After the new batch of episodes were released on September 6, the model was faced with backlash by the town’s residents for making the claims that she owns the town.

“I want to reach out to personally say I am so deeply sorry for the confusion I have caused,” she began in the apology, which was shared by People on Tuesday, September 10. “I certainly do not own Pioneertown. I never should have said that and I apologize for doing so. I want you to know that I did not mean any harm. I absolutely love Pioneertown and I simply got too excited talking about it.”

After noting that the town has a special place in her heart because it is where she had her first date and wedding with her husband, Alanna said she is determined to “correct the record.”

“We wanted to become part of the community, so we invested in a home and other properties there,” she continued. “Again, I am so sorry to the people of Pioneertown, I would never want to disrespect the town’s history or any of the people who make it such a wonderful place.”

Alanna issued the apology after Pioneertown residents posted their own statement about her claims in an Instagram post on Monday, September 9. The townspeople said that her claims were “baseless” and argued that she undermined “78 years of internationally celebrated film, arts and cultural history.”

“These claims belittle generations of artists, neighbors, nature lovers, community members, musicians, small business owners and otherwise magnificent people of Pioneertown,” the statement continued, noting that the town has over 400 residents.

The statement went on to explain that Pioneertown “is privately owned by more than 100 independent parties” and that Alanna “has a small minority non-controlling interest in an entity that owns six of thirty five parcels in the Mane Street area, constituting less than one percent of Pioneertown's total 640 acres.”

“The claim that she owns the ‘entire town’ is verifiably false,” the statement concluded.

Fans got a glimpse into Pioneertown when Alanna brought several of her cast mates to the town during a season 8 episode . Prior to their visit, Alanna and her costars made several jokes about her owning the town and she was frequently asked how expensive it was to purchase the town.

Before season 8 premiered , Alanna explained that getting a role on the show “happened really quickly.”

“ There was a little bit of hesitation there of course , and just thinking about how it will change my life. It was this big shift and I really had to evaluate,” she previously told People about her decision to join the reality series, which first premiered on the streaming service in 2019. “I did go through all of the emotions, but at the end of the day I was like, ‘What is life for?’ Just put yourself out there and take opportunities as they come.”