Yahoo Lifestyle Jason Oppenheim Wears ‘I Own Pioneertown’ Tank After “Selling Sunset” Co-star Apologized for Saying She Bought Town
New agent Alanna Gold faced backlash from the town’s residents after the new season premiered, and later clarified, “I certainly do not own Pioneertown"
Jason Oppenheim appears to be poking fun at the controversy over Selling Sunset newcomer Alanna Gold’s claims that she owned an Old West town.
In a video he reshared on his Instagram Stories on Tuesday, Sept. 17 and has since deleted, the Oppenheim Group co-founder sports a tank top bearing the words “I own Pioneertown” while working out at the gym.
Alanna, who joined the Netflix docusoap for its recent eighth season, claimed on on the show that she and her husband, Adam Gold, had purchased Pioneertown, which is located in San Bernardino County, Calif.
Alanna faced backlash from the town’s residents after the episodes premiered on Sept. 6, and issued an apology for the inaccurate claim three days later.
Alanna Gold; Getty
Alanna Gold and Pioneertown“I want to reach out to personally say I am so deeply sorry for the confusion I have caused,” the Selling Sunset agent began the apology, which was shared with PEOPLE on Sept. 9.
“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,” she added.
Alanna also noted her first date and wedding with Adam took place in Pioneertown and that she was working to “correct the record.”
“We wanted to become part of the community, so we invested in a home and other properties there,” she wrote. “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.”
Her apology was prompted by a statement posted to Instagram by Pioneertown’s residents that said her claims “undermine 78 years of internationally celebrated film, arts and cultural history.”
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The residents noted that more than 400 residents live in Pioneertown, which “is privately owned by more than 100 independent parties.”
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 1% of Pioneertown's total 640 acres," the statement clarified, adding, “The claim that she owns the ‘entire town’ is verifiably false.”
Before making her debut on Selling Sunset, Alanna opened up about her interest in Pioneertown in an interview with PEOPLE.
“We've always really loved it, and it was actually where we went for one of our first trips,” she said. “We always knew we wanted to own a piece of property out there or be a part of the community somehow. We kind of always assumed it was going to be through owning a home out there, which we do now, a place we call Cosmic Ranch."
"In 2020, when we learned that a large portion of Pioneertown was for sale, we saw an incredible opportunity not only to strengthen our ties to the community but also to preserve a piece of history," she added.
Season 8 of Selling Sunset is now streaming on Netflix.
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