Priest who approved Sabrina Carpenter’s music video shoot in a church relieved of “pastoral oversight” and additional duties

The Brooklyn priest who in 2023 approved of Sabrina Carpenter filming the ‘Feather’ music video in a church has been stripped of his duties.

• READ MORE: Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Short n’ Sweet’ review: a new pop princess ascends

In October last year, Carpenter released the music video for ‘Feather’, which saw her dancing in the Our Lady Of Mount Carmel-Annunciation Parish – a Roman Catholic church in Brooklyn – and included a coffin that read “RIP bitch”.

Shortly after its release, numerous members of the religious community aired their grievances around the video over Carpenter’s scantily-clad attire while in the church. Soon after, Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello was stripped of his administrative duties.

In an apology posted to the church’s Facebook page, Gigantiello said he approved the shoot in an “effort to further strengthen the bonds between the young creative artists who make up a large part of this community.” He later said he was told the video would feature a funeral scene, but the end result is “not what was initially presented to me.”

Now, it has been revealed that Gigantiello has further been relieved of “any pastoral oversight or governance role” at the church due to additional “serious violations” that have recently been uncovered.

Bishop Robert Brennan, per AP, said in a statement that Gigantiello being stripped of his duties comes following an investigation that was launched into the priest. Gigantiello was revealed to have made unauthorised payments to a former member of New York City mayor Eric Adams’ administration, and is being investigated for corruption.

An investigation launched after the video revealed that Gigantiello made unauthorized financial transfers to a former top aide in New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, which is being investigated on charges of corruption, Brennan said.

The new corruption allegations, coupled with his already soured image within the community from the Sabrina Carpenter video has led to the church appointing Bishop Witold Mroziewski as Gigantiello’s replacement.

In other Carpenter news, she most recently revealed the list of guests joining her for her upcoming Netflix holiday special ‘A Nonsense Christmas’. The special, which will premiere on December 6, will include appearances from Chappell Roan, Tyla, Quinta Brunson, Cara Delevingne, Kyle Mooney, Megan Stalter and more.

Last week, she brought out Christina Aguilera for ‘What A Girl Wants’ during a Los Angeles gig, and “arrested” Bottoms actress Rachel Sennott. “Do you want to go to jail, but like, in a cute way?” asked Carpenter before ‘Juno’ started. “I’m getting really flustered because I’m picturing our future together,” she said, before handing her pink fuzzy handcuffs.

The Grammy-nominee also recently announced the UK and European leg of her tour, which will take place next year with former NME Cover star Rachel Chinouriri as a special guest.

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