{"id":518808,"date":"2026-04-08T03:23:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T03:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/518808\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T03:23:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T03:23:14","slug":"alan-carr-accused-of-cultural-appropriation-as-fans-divided-by-scottish-castle-purchase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/518808\/","title":{"rendered":"Alan Carr accused of &#8216;cultural appropriation&#8217; as fans divided by Scottish castle purchase"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Comedian Alan Carr is facing accusations of cultural appropriation following his announcement that he intends to relocate permanently to Scotland and take on a Scottish barony title.<\/p>\n<p>The 49-year-old television personality purchased the historic Ayton Castle earlier this year for \u00a33.25 million and has revealed plans to create his own tartan.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on a recent podcast, Mr Carr said: &#8220;It is my home, I have bought it, and I&#8217;m selling up and moving up there. I&#8217;m 50, I want a change.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He added: &#8220;I&#8217;ve got the survey now, and I&#8217;m waiting for the keys to come. It&#8217;s a lovely community, really small, and I want it to be magical. I&#8217;ll be a baron, and I get my own tartan.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"d5838\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"09588d8ee45a1b162a58ec858c0b24f1\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201200%20750'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/alan-carr.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"750\" alt=\"Alan Carr\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Comedian Alan Carr recently bought a Scottish castle<\/p>\n<p> | BBC<\/p>\n<p>The property, considered among Scotland&#8217;s finest baronial mansions, boasts 17 bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a five-storey Great Tower, turrets, a private chapel and 106 acres of listed gardens.<\/p>\n<p>Local resident Susan Cameron has voiced strong criticism of the comedian&#8217;s ambitions. She told The Daily Record: &#8220;Baron Alan Carr sounds ridiculous. I don&#8217;t like titles at all &#8211; maybe he should try for a king title instead.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ms Cameron also raised concerns about the broader housing crisis affecting the area. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got enough holiday homes and second homes here, and given that most can&#8217;t even afford to get on the housing market, him having a castle as another home is grating,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"dda26\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"ecebab66b780b03e4e461b314fa4d7ab\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%205000%203333'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775618593_823_alan-carr.jpg\" width=\"5000\" height=\"3333\" alt=\"Alan Carr\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Alan Carr has faced criticism for buying a Scottish castle<\/p>\n<p> | <\/p>\n<p>GETTY<\/p>\n<p>The native Scot questioned why such privileges should be available to outsiders. &#8220;He shouldn&#8217;t just be &#8216;given&#8217; a title. I&#8217;m Scottish born and bred and I can&#8217;t have a title or a castle,&#8221; she added.<\/p>\n<p>Scottish barony titles can be purchased independently of land ownership and are recorded in the Scottish Barony Register, though they do not confer a seat in the House of Lords.<\/p>\n<p>Other residents have expressed unease about what they perceive as disrespect towards Scottish heritage. <\/p>\n<p>One local said: &#8220;I think it&#8217;s a bit disrespectful to Scottish people to take over an important castle and assume the titles and tartan without knowing the history behind it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"abce6\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"15f61d7bb2dd51c4c963730d69433500\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201200%20750'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775618593_55_alan-carr.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"750\" alt=\"Alan Carr\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Some social media users have accused Alan Carr of &#8216;cultural appropriation&#8217;<\/p>\n<p> | <\/p>\n<p>GETTY<\/p>\n<p>Concerns have also been raised about potential disruption from television production. The same resident noted it &#8220;could also be frustrating for locals if they lose out on outdoor spaces while filming is going on.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The reaction on social media has ranged from sharp criticism to humour. One user wrote: &#8220;He won&#8217;t be a baron and won&#8217;t have a tartan. That&#8217;s cultural appropriation,&#8221; the publication reports.<\/p>\n<p>Another quipped that Mr Carr would become known as &#8220;the Chatty Laird.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"16020\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"858fb418175db19a11a5894f5333a48c\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%202000%201515'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775618594_643_alan-carr.jpg\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1515\" alt=\"Alan Carr\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The  television personality purchased the historic Ayton Castle earlier this year for \u00a33.25 million<\/p>\n<p> | <\/p>\n<p>GETTY<\/p>\n<p>Mr Carr has defended his vision for the estate, emphasising its focus on the local community. <\/p>\n<p>Appearing on the Staying Relevant podcast with Sam Thompson and Pete Wicks, he said: &#8220;I fell in love with this castle. I&#8217;ve always wanted a castle.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The comedian outlined plans for wildlife conservation and public engagement. &#8220;I want it filled with animals; it&#8217;s not a spa, and it&#8217;s not a hotel. When you see what I want to do with it, you&#8217;ll love it \u2013 community-based, I&#8217;ve got all this land, a bit of rewilding, looking after animals,&#8221; he explained.<\/p>\n<p>A planned public meeting with residents was postponed due to overwhelming interest, with organisers seeking a larger venue.<\/p>\n<p>Some locals remain optimistic about the potential boost to tourism. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Comedian Alan Carr is facing accusations of cultural appropriation following his announcement that he intends to relocate permanently&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518809,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,830,96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-518808","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-celebrity","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-tv","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}