The newest agent on the latest season of “Selling Sunset” was quick to deliver the real estate drama the show is known for — though, perhaps, not the kind she intended.
In the eighth season of the hit Netflix show, which premiered Friday, Alanna Gold, 32, opens up about her own property portfolio.
“I own a small Western town in the desert,” says Gold, perched on a balcony during an open house hosted by a real estate agent looking for a posh property in Manhattan Beach. “It's called Pioneertown.”
“I didn’t know you could buy a city,” his colleague Bre Tiesi replies incredulously.
The residents of Pioneertown didn't either.
“When he came out, it was a community explosion,” he said. Motel in Pioneertown Owner Matt French, 40. “Everyone was like, ‘Who is this person? ’”
In 2020, Gold and her husband, Adam, co-founded Pioneertown Land Management with partner David Corso after they decided they wanted to “preserve a piece of history,” she told People. Both Corso and Adam Gold are listed on business records for Pioneertown Land Co., which owns seven parcels on Mane Street, according to public records — a small fraction of the total for the town, which has a population of about 400.
The property claim has outraged the small desert community. The Pioneertown Gazette community newspaper demanded that Gold apologizeOne man said he woke up to 50 text messages over the weekend from neighbours furious at the scene. Exasperated residents have traded some of the most outlandish headlines – “Alanna Gold's Pioneer Town Is Pretty Awesome” – among themselves.
Residents acknowledge that reality TV shows are not known for their strict adherence to fact, but even so, the description of Pioneertown as a backwater stretch of desert that no one had ever heard of seemed a bit of a stretch.
The unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, about 125 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, was founded in 1946 by a group of Hollywood celebrities who wanted to create a town that could also function as a setting for Western movies.
Eight decades later, it remains a popular destination. Tourists come to see the old facades: a motel, a bar, a trading post. Pappy and Harriet's, a live music venue, attracts international artists.
“It was presented as if she had found a diamond in the rough that no one had heard of,” French said. “Paul McCartney played in Pioneertown!”
Gold apologized to residents on Tuesday, according to her public relations team, noting that Pioneertown holds a special place for her. It was there that she had her first date with her husband and, later, where they were married, she said in her apology.
“I am deeply sorry for the confusion I have caused. I certainly do not own Pioneertown, I should never have said that,” Gold wrote in a note to The Times. “I love Pioneertown and I just got too emotional talking about it.”
Some residents said they felt the program deserved some of the blame.
“Half of Hollywood vacations here, so a lot of people in the industry should have stopped and questioned the absurdity of that statement,” said Colleen Haggerty, 53.
“I mean this is not Necker Island“he added, referring to the private island of Virgin Group chairman Richard Branson.
Representatives for “Selling Sunset” did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to public records, Pioneertown Land Management owns several major buildings on Mane Street, including the Sound scene and the general store.
“They are key buildings,” said resident Curt Sautter, 60. “But when it comes to Pioneertown, it’s just a fraction of what’s really going on there.”
Sautter said he has never been a big fan of reality TV and has no plans to start doing so, with the occasional exception of “Ice Road Truckers.”
